The Hyde Park Barracks was built in 1819 to house, clothe and feed convict men and boys. This impressive brick building and walled compound, located at the head of Sydney’s historic Macquarie Street, was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway. After 1848 the main dormitory held newly arrived female immigrants while a handful of government agencies made use of surrounding buildings. In 1862, separate wards for destitute women were added upstairs and the Barracks became known as the Hyde Park Asylum. Sydney celebrated the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1887 with the construction of major public buildings and monuments. The Hyde Park Barracks became a hub of government departments and renamed Chancery Square. Until the late 1970s, thousands of public servants, legal workers and litigants occupied dingy office spaces, courtrooms and corridors, scattered throughout the increasingly crowded complex. Today the Hyde Park Barracks is a museum about itself.

Guidebook | Hyde Park Barracks Management Plan