Cockatoo Island Military Guard Room

Military Guard Room
Military Guard Room
Location	Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	33°50′54″S151°10′12″E / 33.8482°S 151.1700°E Coordinates: 33°50′54″S151°10′12″E / 33.8482°S 151.1700°E
Commonwealth Heritage List
Official name	Military Guard Room
Type	Listed place (Historic)
Designated	22 June 2004
Reference no.	105258
	Location of Military Guard Room in Sydney

Last updated October 17, 2021

Military Guard Room is a heritage-listed military installation within the Prison Barracks Precinct, Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.^[1]

History

Cockatoo Island became a gaol in 1839, following advice by New South Wales Governor George Gipps to the British Secretary of State for the Colonies that convicts would be sent to the island after the closure of the Norfolk Island convict establishment. The convict precinct (see also Cockatoo Island Prison Barracks Precinct, 1951, 1953 and 1859) was built over the next few years, the buildings beginning to be occupied from October 1841. Quarrying of grain silos (Biloela House and Underground Grain Silos) was one of the early convict tasks. In order to service Royal Navy ships, the Fitzroy Dock was built on the island and completed in 1857. Cockatoo became the major government dockyard in Australia.^[1]

In 1869 prisoners were transferred from the island to Darlinghurst, and the prison buildings became an industrial school for girls and a reformatory in 1871. The dockyard area was now separated from this institutional area on the top of the island by a fence. Following the departure of the girls in 1888, prisoners were again sent to the island, and the gaol function continued until about 1909. Meanwhile, the dockyard function expanded, and the Sutherland Dock was built in 1890. The NSW Public Works Department declared Cockatoo the state dockyard.^[1]

After Federation, in 1913 Cockatoo became the Commonwealth Dockyard, and the island, both through shipbuilding and servicing, played an important role both in the development of the Royal Australian Navy and during the First World War. The former prison buildings were now used for office purposes. From 1933 the dockyard was leased from the Australian Government by Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Ltd and the island played a very significant role during the Second World War. After the war, now known as Vickers, the dockyard continued, and submarine facilities were introduced. The dockyard closed in 1992, and there was some demolition. Sale of the island was proposed. The island is now vested in the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.^[1]

The military guard room, with detached kitchen and toilet, was erected in 1842, and a cell block (later demolished) was completed three years later. The buildings were designed by the Commanding Royal Engineer, Colonel George Barney, who played a notable role in the colony. During the female institution phase, the guard room was used as a sewing room, then as a store and office. After the females' departure, the room became offices and accommodation for the resident engineer, before a new wing was added and the building reverted to prison purposes. After Commonwealth assumption of control, the room was used as a residence by the 1920s. After the Second World War the buildings' roofs were removed; stone was also cannibalised for use elsewhere on the island. In 1980 parts of the room were removed and the walls were topped with cement render.^[1]

The guard room and the other convict-era buildings form the only remaining imperial-funded (as opposed to colonial) convict public works complex in New South Wales and form one of the most complete groups of convict structures in Australia.^[1]

Description

Military Guard Room is a part of the Prison Barracks Precinct, Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour.^[1]

The guard room is single storey, rectangular, and built of sandstone blocks, with a separate kitchen. The style is Old Colonial Georgian. Both buildings are roofless. Window and door openings are rectangular. The walls finish at the roof line with stone slab eaves. Inside, the guardroom features iron wall-rods which would have supported timber boards upon which rifles were laid. Underneath are iron hat-pegs. There is also a reconstructed stone chimney at the south-west end. The guard room and the kitchen have stone slab floors.^[1]

Condition

The 1997 Conservation Management Plan noted that the stonework was generally in good condition, while there was some corrosion to the ironwork. As at May 2001, both buildings were roofless and the walls had varying levels of intactness. There was some weed and other vegetation growth.^[1]

Heritage listing

Military Guard Room was listed on the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004 having satisfied the following criteria.^[1]

Criterion A: Processes

The military guard room (and detached kitchen), completed in 1842, is historically highly significant for its association with early convict administration in the Australian colonies. It is also associated with the other phases of Cockatoo Island's history, as an industrial school for females and as a major shipyard.^[1]

Criterion B: Rarity

The building is the only remaining imperial convict public works complex in NSW, and is one of the most complete groups of convict structures in Australia. The building is a rare and important example of a guard house of the period, still exhibiting features directly related to its use.^[1]

Criterion D: Characteristic values

The building is part of a group of convict buildings which is the only remaining imperial convict public works complex in NSW, and is one of the most complete groups of convict structures in Australia. As such, the building is also a rare and important example of a guard house of the period, still exhibiting features directly related to its use.^[1]

Criterion H: Significant people

The building was designed by Colonel George Barney, who as Commanding Royal Engineer played a notable role in the colony.^[1]

Related Research Articles

Cockatoo Island (New South Wales) New South Wales, Australia

Cockatoo Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the junction of the Parramatta and Lane Cove River in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia.

Garden Island is an inner-city locality of Sydney, Australia, and the location of a major Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base. It is located to the north-east of the Sydney central business district and juts out into Port Jackson, immediately to the north of the suburb of Potts Point. Used for government and naval purposes since the earliest days of the colony of Sydney, it was originally a completely-detached island but was joined to the Potts Point shoreline by major land reclamation work during World War II.

Goat Island is a heritage-listed island located in Port Jackson, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located north-west of the Sydney central business district, Goat island is about 300 metres (980 ft) wide in a north/south direction and 180 metres (590 ft) long in an east/west direction; and covers an area of 5.4 hectares. Goat Island lies off the shores of the Sydney suburbs of Balmain and Millers Point, at the junction of Darling Harbour with the main channel of Sydney Harbour.

The Maitland Gaol, also known as Maitland Correctional Centre, is a heritage-listed former Australian prison located in East Maitland, New South Wales. Its construction was started in 1844 and prisoners first entered the gaol in 1848. By the time of its closure, on 31 January 1998, it had become the longest continuously-run gaol in Australia. It has since been turned into a museum and is a popular tourist attraction. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role in sustaining the Royal Australian Navy. The dockyard was closed in 1991, and its remnants are heritage listed as the Cockatoo Island Industrial Conservation Area.

Victoria Barracks is an Australian Army base in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Victoria Barracks is located in the suburb of Paddington, between Oxford Street and Moore Park Road. It is just north of the Moore Park, the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium. Victoria Barracks houses the Headquarters Forces Command.

Trial Bay Gaol is a heritage-listed former public works prison and internment camp at Cardwell Street, Arakoon, Kempsey Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The property is owned by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 14 May 2010.

The Georges Head Battery, also called the Georges Head Military Fortifications, is a heritage-listed former military fortification located on the Georges Head on Chowder Bay Road, Georges Heights, in the suburb of Mosman, in the Mosman Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia.

Sutherland Dock is a heritage-listed dockyard at the former Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Cockatoo Island, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Fitzroy Dock is a heritage-listed dockyard at the former Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Petrie Terrace Police Depot is a heritage-listed former police barracks at 25-61 Petrie Terrace, Petrie Terrace, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1850s to 1960s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 23 July 1999.

The Underground Grain Silos are heritage-listed silos at Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Biloela House is a house at the centre of a heritage-listed historic precinct on Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Prison Barracks Precinct is a heritage-listed prison precinct at Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Convict Barracks Block is a heritage-listed convict barracks within the Prison Barracks Precinct, Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Mess Hall is a heritage-listed part of the Prison Barracks Precinct at Cockatoo Island, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Mess Hall (former). It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Cockatoo Island Industrial Conservation Area is a heritage-listed protected area relating to the former Cockatoo Island Dockyard at Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

Power House & Pump House is a heritage-listed power house and pumping station at Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

The Garden Island Naval Precinct is a heritage-listed naval base and defence precinct located at Cowper Wharf Roadway in the inner eastern Sydney neighbourhood of Garden Island in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The precinct was built from 1856. It includes the HMAS Kuttabul naval base, formerly known as HMAS Penguin. The property is owned by Australian Department of Defence. It was added to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004 and the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 12 November 2004.

Sydney Cove West Archaeological Precinct is a heritage-listed precinct that contains The Rocks police station, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, car park, parks, shops and roads located at 112-156 George Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The precinct previously contained a commissariat store, Maritime Services Board offices, dockyard and Department of Labour & Industry offices. Buildings in the precinct were developed in various stages since 1797 to date, with heritage-listed buildings dating from 1797 to 1939. The precinct is also known as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Maritime Services Board, Colonial Government naval dockyard, Commissariat Stores, Colonial Hospital, Kings and Queens Wharf and First Fleet Park. The property is owned by Property NSW, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 August 2011.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Military Guard Room (Place ID 105258)". Australian Heritage Database . Department of the Environment . Retrieved 17 September 2018.

Bibliography

Pike, Douglas, ed., 1966, Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol.1. Melbourne.
Godden Mackay, 1997, Cockatoo Island Conservation Management Plan. Vols 1 and 2. Department of Defence.
Kerr, J.S., 1984, Cockatoo Island: Penal and Institutional Remains. National Trust of Australia (NSW), pp. 16–21.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Military Guard Room , entry number 105258 in the Australian Heritage Database published by the Commonwealth of Australia 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 17 September 2018.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[ahd-105258-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Military Guard Room (Place ID 105258)". Australian Heritage Database . Department of the Environment . Retrieved 17 September 2018.

[1]