A trip down to Cockatoo Island
Cockatoo Island is a UNESCO world-heritage-listed island in the middle of beautiful Sydney Harbour. From gaol to shipyard to campsite.
Yes, gaol. It took me a while to figure out that this is the Australian way of describing that building where criminals spend their time. Funny.
I actually didn’t really know what it was for or what part it played in Sydney’s/Australia’s young history. Heard a lot about Cockatoo Island but in the last 3 years I just didn’t get around to actually going there.
Blown away by the great winter weather and the scenic ferry ride, arriving there is pretty surreal.
You can still see the city but knowing that it was some sort of an Ozzie Alcatraz for drunks and “second” offenders made it even more impressive. Cockatoo Island has a long and illustrious history dating back to the time of first settlement, playing a significant role in the development of Sydney and the nation.
After the relocation of the convicts to different gaols and due to the fact that the island has already been used for shipbuilding and repair, it was around 1930 that Cockatoo Island became a major dockyard facility.
It was Australia’s first naval dockyard for the Royal Australian Navy (1913–21) and continued to support and build ships for the Navy through two World Wars, and the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Honestly, how sick would camping be on this Island.
