![]() ![]() We arrived around 11am and did the virtual tour while we were waiting to check in at 2pm. Me and my boyfriend stayed here for one night in one of the waterfront campground site and we were very pleased with what we experienced. ![]() The apartment was clean and spacious and included all the amenities we needed for a comfortable stay. The seagulls, however, were loud but this was all part of the experience. ![]() The island itself was quiet, we got the impression there weren't too many other guests staying the night. We were given a contact number for the night ranger should anything go wrong, but this was not needed. We were also able to take audio guides of the island for the whole night, so we could complete the tour after the visitor reception and cafes had closed - this meant we had a relatively quiet experience. We arrived at around 2.30pm - check in was very easy and the receptionist was friendly and showed us where to go. There are no other eating/drinking facilities on the island so this was an essential stop really - there is nothing to stop you getting a ferry into town though after hours. The visitor centre and cafe were closing at 3pm, so we stopped at a supermarket before getting the ferry to the island to stock up on food etc. There are fantastic views from the studio, right across the harbour and all around the island. Ferries also run all day so you don't feel isolated or stuck on the island. The studio is situated directly above the visitor reception/ticket office so very easy to get to from the ferry wharf. It was a fantastic experience and would highly recommend. We stayed for one night in the Fire Station Studio. Hotels near University of New South Wales.Hotels near University of Western Sydney.Hotels near Cockatoo Island Accommodation.If you wish, you can spend the night on the island in either in one of the houses or apartments or one of the “glamping” tents. Several buildings and exhibits on the grounds as well as two tunnels used to transport prisoners and goods from one end to the other end of the island were interesting. The boys were assigned throughout the island for a variety of jobs. Interestingly, there was a ship moored that was home to orphan boys. Convicts built prison barracks, grain storage silos and perhaps, most important, built the dock and maintained it for use by the British Navy and other ships such as battleships and submarines. Learning the history of how it came to be a “penal colony” was quite interesting. We took the self-guided audio tour to explore the island. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the island was a convict jail, a reformatory and industrial school, and a shipbuilding yard. We took about two hours to do the circuit but you could probably take a longer time to get a more in-depth experience.Ī short ferry ride from Sydney, Australia’s Central Business District will take you to Cockatoo Island, the harbor’s largest island. We also went through tunnels, along walkways next to vertical cliffs and had views back to the Harbour Bridge. When we went in May they had a photographic exhibition called "Shipyard Stories" in Biloela House with official and candid photos of the shipyards. The size of these buildings is really imposing. Established in 1857 and closed in 1991, the over a hundred year old history has left docks, numerous incredibly large industrial buildings, old cranes and large working equipment. It then became an educational institution as the Biloela Industrial School for Girls and the Biloela Reformatory from 1871 to 1880.įor us the island's history as a shipbuilding centre was the most interesting. Fitzroy Dock was carved by convicts and there is a guard house, mess hall, solitary confinement cells, grain silos and Biloela House. This island is a UNESCO world heritage listed site because of its 30 years (1839-1869) as a convict penal precinct. There are tours and audio guides but we just took a map and explored by ourselves. They have a display of the tents they provide near the visitor centre (they did look fairly rudimentary) and we saw the movie and activity lists for the campsite. There is accommodation onsite in apartments, holiday houses and the camping ground. The visitor centre is only open 10 am to 4 pm but the ferries run much later (at least till 11 pm). When we took the ferry back from Cockatoo Island to Circular Quay it had one stop at Barangaroo Darling Harbour where we got off. There should be other ferries to Cockatoo Island from Woolwich Wharf, Birchgrove Wharf, Balmain Wharf and, of course, Circular Quay. On a Saturday afternoon, this ferry has one service hourly to Cockatoo Island and another service hourly to Circular Quay and these are about half an hour apart. It was spur of the moment with only a quick internet search. After walking along the north shore we took a ferry from Greenwich Point to Cockatoo Island. ![]()
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