Convict architect Francis Greenway designed this squarish, decorously Georgian structure (1819) as convict quarters. Between 1819 and 1848, 50,000 men and boys did time here, most of whom had been sentenced by British courts to transportation to Australia for property crime. It later became an immigration depot, a women’s asylum and a law court. These days it’s a fascinating (if not entirely cheerful) museum, focusing on the barracks’ history and the archaeological efforts that helped reveal it.
In 2010 it was one of the Australian convict sites to be inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List. Inside you can learn about the offences for which convicts were transported to Australia, some of which seem astoundingly petty today.
