A UNESCO World Heritage site in the heart of contemporary Sydney, the Hyde Park Barracks is an extraordinary record of the living legacy of colonial Australia. Originally built to house convicts, the Barracks also served as a women’s immigration depot and asylum, and later law courts and government offices. Today this immersive museum tells the stories of the thousands of men, women and children held or housed there, and the Aboriginal communities profoundly impacted by the relentless push of colonial expansion.

Learning programs

Browse all
Education programme at Hyde Park Barracks.
Onsite

Archaeology Underfoot

As they experience historical archaeology first hand, students learn to differentiate between the roles of historian and archaeologist

Students examining convict tools to learn about Convict Life at the Barracks on Level 3 of the museum
Onsite

Convict Life at the Barracks

What was it like to be a convict living at the Hyde Park Barracks?

Two girls dressed in costume in large dormitory style room.
Onsite

Home: Convicts, Migrants and First Peoples

What was it like to be a convict living at the Hyde Park Barracks?

Student and carer looking at convict bricks on wheelchair tray.  Cayn assisting.
Onsite

Making Connections accessible program

Onsite program at the Hyde Park Barracks for primary and secondary school students with access requirements

Queens Square, Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000

Hyde Park Barracks

Gadigal Country

Queens Square, Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000
  • Wheelchair accessible
Plan your visit

Museum stories

Browse all
Room with floor removed, revealing footings.

Discoveries at the Barracks

Renewal and restoration works on the Hyde Park Barracks compound have exposed building techniques from the early 19th century

Paiting showing boats and Aboriginal people in canoes
First Nations

The convict impact on Aboriginal people

Impacts of the convict system on Aboriginal Country and communities

Long corridor with wooden floor, painted brick walls and wooden arches above, leading to backlit window at far end.

If these walls could talk: Hyde Park Barracks Museum

One of the most significant convict sites in the world, the UNESCO World Heritage listed Hyde Park Barracks was converted into Sydney’s female Immigration Depot in 1848, temporarily housing an estimated 40,000 women during its 38-year history. The barracks holds evidence of these former occupants in its walls, floors and ceilings

alt text needed
Museum stories

A short history of the Hyde Park Barracks

In the early 19th century, the Hyde Park Barracks was the central convict institution and crossroads for tens of thousands of convicts shuffled back and forth throughout the colony. It's now on the World Heritage list, recognised among the world’s most important cultural heritage places linked to forced migration, colony building and convict culture.

Series of brass cogs and wheels.
Museum stories

Conserving Australia’s oldest public clock

On its 200th anniversary, Australia’s oldest surviving public clock received some much-needed conservation and care

Person in red shirt kneeling in front of lifted floorboards removing debris.
Museum stories

Hyde Park Barracks: a keeper of lost things

Uncover and explore some of the items found inside the barracks

Visit us

Annual Giving: Sharing our stories

Your support will help us to preserve and share the stories of NSW through our places, collections, archives and programs

Find out more