A Trip to Australia and New Zealand
Sydney - Hyde Park Barracks Museum
Hyde Park Barracks was designed by Major General Lachlan Macquarie and it's construction was supervised by Francis Greenway in 1818 - 1819. Macquaire was, at the time, serving as the 5th governor of New South Wales and Greenway was an English architect that had been transported to Australia as a convicted felon (bankruptcy and forgery). Greenway came to Macquarie's attention because of a letter from Arthur Phillip, the first governor of New South Wales, who was a personal friend of Greenway back home in England. (Who you know in this world has always been important.) Greenway designed and constructed a number of important structures in Sydney including the Macquarie Lighthouse, Government House, St. James Church, and Hyde Park Barracks. Macquarie emancipated him, but later they had a serious disagreement over fees. Macquarie's successor, Thomas Brisbane, dismissed Greenway in 1822 and he died a very poor man in 1837.
The cat o' nine tails, a grinding wheel used to keep tools sharp, manacles, clay pipes, and a straw hat speak eloquently of a rude convict existence in the early half of the nineteenth century
The construction of Hyde Park Barracks was part of a change in government policy regarding convict labor. Governor Macquarie is regarded to have been the government official most responsible for at least starting the transformation of Australia from a convict colony into a free settlement. From 1819 until 1848, the Hyde Park Barracks was used to house convict labor working on government projects in Sydney. From 1848 to 1886 it was used as housing for female immigrants awaiting employment in Sydney. From 1862 to 1886 it served as a female asylum. From 1867 to 1979 the city government used the building as offices and law courts.
The museum has an interesting exhibit about "transportation" of convicts from England to New South Wales.
