The History and Future of Cockatoo Island

Cockatoo Island 1
The history and future of Cockatoo Island
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Location of the historical site

Cockatoo Island 2
Located fin the junction of the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers, Cockatoo Island
is the largest island in Sydney Harbour. The easiest way to get to the island is by
using a public ferry departing from Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, Barangaroo
or Wharves.
Figure 1: A map of the location of Cockatoo Island. Retrieved from
https://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/visit/
Historical significance of the site
Isolated, Cockatoo Island was considered as an ideal place for hard labour.
Convicts were sent to the island to live and work under harsh conditions. It was
also easy to take supplies to the island and to maintain a keen eye on the
subjects. Construction and quarrying were the main forms of hard labour the
convicts were subject to. According to Milner (2016) the convicts excavated
about 580000 ft3 of rock to clear out an area for the construction of a dock
Timeline
1839 – 1869

Cockatoo Island 3
The Island was used as an establishment for convict penal. Primarily it was a
place for convicts who had re-offended the colonies (Milner, 2016).
1871 – 1888
During this time, the prison barracks were converted into an industrial school for
girls. A separate reformatory was used for under 16 girls convicted of crime
(Poshoglian, 2013).
1888 – 1908
Prisoners were returned to the island in June 1888 due to overcrowding in other
parts of the colony (Gapps, 2011). In 1906, the male prison was closed and the
prisoners transferred to Long Bay Gaol.
1908 – 1992
In 1913, the island was purchased by the Commonwealth Government and used
as hub for building naval vessels and for ship repair too (Howitt, 2011). The ship
building which had begun continued however with a declining trend until 1992
(Anderson, 2018). The island was finally vacated in 1992
1992 – Present
In 2007 it was opened to the public and included in the National Heritage list. In
2010, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage centre.
Why it is important to preserve Cockatoo Island
The island has an exceptional heritage value with a striking and unusual location.
During the period of over 200 years, many structures were constructed on the
island. Still represented are the historic buildings, artefacts, gardens, ephemera
the patina and the historic layout. A World War II search light can be found side
by side with grain silos for convicts, a power house, steam operated cranes in