HYDE PARK BARRACKS

To avoid the February heat and humidity the group of 13 headed indoors this month to kick off the 2025 programme with a visit to the Hyde Park Barracks.

Most of us had not been there for decades and it was a revelation to see the renovated site and how beautifully it has been done. The headphones activate when you go near a display or into a room. They are a very comfortable and  clear. Very kind to our older ears.

Hyde Park Barracks is a UNESCO World Heritage listed site, designed by Frances Greenaway and built in the Governor Lachlan Macquarie Governor days( 1810- 1817).

Originally built to house convicts it has worn many hats, from being a lunatic asylum, immigration depot and later law ,courts and government offices.

It has been restored to be an immersive museum and is an extraordinary record of colonial Australia and its convict history. It also tells the impact on the aboriginal communities of the colonial expansion.

Hyde Park Barracks is a” keeper of stories” and definitively well worth a visit and being free is even better value. Highly recommended.