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Figure 2.35 and Figure 2.36: William Hardy Wilson’s drawing of the western façade of HPB (left) is included in his ground-breaking book of 1924, Old Colonial Architecture in N.S.W. and Tasmania, which helped ignite public interest in early Australian architecture. His drawing of the southern façade facing Hyde Park (right) is less well known, although held in the National Library of Australia. Wilson considers in 1924: “With the barest means and economy in execution, [Greenway] produced architecture which never has been excelled in this land . . . to the simplest structures he gave a monumental scale, beautiful proportions and delightfully textured walls. His bigness of scale, rarest excellence in his art, is nowhere better expressed than in the HPB.”263 (Source: Wilson 1924 Old Colonial Architecture; National Library of Australia, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-153523723, copyright held by his estate)

Figure 2.38: 1936 pencil, ink and watercolour sketch entitled “HPB” by Sydney Ure Smith. This depiction Figure 2.37: 1916 etching entitled “Old Convict Barracks” by artist/ was completed 20 years later and at the same time publisher Sydney Ure Smith (1887-1949). (Source: Powerhouse he was organising a petition with 8000 names to Museum) save HPB. (Source: Powerhouse Museum)

263 Wilson 1924, Old colonial architecture, p.8

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Date Event Architects such as B.J. Waterhouse (1876-1965) and R. Keith Harris leap to the defence of the building, for example, developing an adaptive re-use option for it as an A.I.F. Memorial.264 K.H. McConnell (1896-1976) writes to the editor to explain that its association with St James Church makes it “the only example in Sydney of two buildings designed to make a formal pair.” On the technical side he points out it is well “capable and worthy of restoration.”265 A letter from Walter Burley Griffin (1876-1937) to the Sydney Morning Herald argues that “in a century of subsequent efforts the same degree of dignity and simplicity has not yet been accomplished with anything like such limited means and materials.”266 By the mid-1930s the artist/ publisher Sydney Ure Smith (1887- 1949) has organised a petition to save it with 8000 signatures.267 He has also has made several fine drawings depicting the place (Figures 2.37 and 2.38). The proposed demolition is delayed. The issue is raised again in the 1940s as part of the post-war reconstruction discussions and plans for Macquarie Street. A report prepared by representatives of the Public Buildings Advisory Committee and the Municipal Council of Sydney is submitted to the Premier W. J. McKell (1891-1985), seeking resolution of “the question of the retention or removal of the Barracks." In August 1947, another committee states: “Generally its permanent retention is clearly not a matter of choice, its demolition is practically inevitable." In March 1947, the Sydney City Council states it has resolved that HPB should be preserved in any remodelling scheme for Macquarie Street.

Figure 2.39 (above): Lionel Lindsay’s 1936 etching of HPB, although executed five years after Cossington-Smith’s sketch, harks back to the early days of the century when horse and buggies were common in Sydney. (Source: HPB collection, SLM)

Figure 2.40 (left): Grace Cossington Smith’s 1931 coloured pencil sketch of Queens Square depicts the view of HPB from the spire of St James church, emphasising the roads and car movements around it. (Source: Bar association of NSW, courtesy SLM)

264 “The Architects,” Sydney Morning Herald 14/2/1923, p.12, courtesy Noni Boyd of the Australian Institute of Architects. 265 Sydney Morning Herald 5/2/1937, p. 10 266 21/6/1935, quoted in Freestone 1999, “Early historic preservation in Australia,” p. 85. 267 Freestone 1999, “Early historic preservation in Australia,” p. 80.

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Date Event 1935 First proposal for a museum An editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald 19/6/1935 raises the earliest documented suggestion that HPB should be converted into a museum: “A practical suggestion linking sentiment and utility is that the old building should be restored and used as a historical museum, whilst it could be very fittingly used in a design for a future square, since it is the only relic of Governor Macquarie's attempts at town planning.” 268

Figure 2.41: Detail from 1943 aerial photograph of HPB. (Source: NSW Land & Property Information)

1944 The Dobell court case In October 1944 an infamous court case is held in the District Court (in Court No. 1 in the northern range, Building D). The Archibald Prize-winning portrait of artist Joshua Smith by William Dobell (1899-1970) is formally challenged by other artists in the competition as “a degrading caricature rather than a traditional portrait.” The heated debate over this artwork is reported widely and seen as confrontation between traditional approaches to art versus modernism.269 1947- Heritage recognition present 1947: “In March 1947, it is stated in a letter by the Sydney City Council that it had been resolved that HPB should be preserved in any remodelling scheme for Macquarie Street.”270 1948: RAIA meeting of the New South Wales Chapter council resolves that The Mint and HPB “should be retained unless it can be proved that in their present position they will interfere with the material development of the city. In the case of the Barracks building that it should be preserved at almost any cost.”271

268 “Macquarie Street”, Sydney Morning Herald, p. 12. 269 Bevan 2014 “The William Dobell portrait that broke a friendship and divided a nation”, Sydney Morning Herald The Good Weekend, 18 October 2014, “Art scandal 70 years ago today”, online at: http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/2014/10/24/art- scandal-70-years-ago-today; McQueen, H. 1979, Black Swan of Trespass; Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1996, “Conservation plan for perimeter structures,” p.43. 270 State Planning Authority of New South Wales 1965, Hyde Park Barracks. 271 AIA archives, minutes of meeting held 27 January 1948

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Date Event 1949: HPB appears on an unpublished “List of properties and sites for Preservation” compiled by the recently formed National Trust of Australia (New South Wales). It is one of 19 buildings in New South Wales given the highest designation, recommended for “Acquisition and control.” HPB also appears as the first building in a list of “Places worthy of preservation” published in the National Trust’s Bulletin.272 1962: HPB is one of 19 buildings included on the “Register A” list of historic buildings compiled by the Cumberland County Council, a short-term regional planning body (defunct by 1963).273 Although considered worthy of preservation, it is not “proclaimed” under Clause 38 of the County of Cumberland Planning Scheme Ordinance. Instead, as with other places owned by the State Government, “assurances are received from the Premier that he had requested the appropriate Ministers not to permit any alterations which would injuriously affect their historic value in any way.”274 1964: Plans to relocate the incumbent District Courts are proposed and serious attempts made to canvass learned societies for suggestions regarding the future uses of the buildings. Architectural and heritage organisations vie to use HPB as headquarters or office space.275 1978: HPB is listed on the Register of the National Estate by the Australian Heritage Commission.276 1981: A Permanent Conservation Order under the New South Wales Heritage Act 1977 is made on HPB, together with the adjacent Mint building.277 Following amendments to the legislation, the Permanent Conservation Order on HPB is transformed into a State Heritage Register (SHR) listing for the place. The listing is still in association with The Mint, adjacent, sharing its curtilage and listing number, No. 190. 1989: HPB is listed as a local heritage item by the City of Sydney. The LEP listing as described in 2012 “includes grounds, former District Courts and offices and archaeology.”278 1995: An Australian Heritage Commission-commissioned report recommends that eight convict sites, including HPB, be developed as a serial nomination for World Heritage listing.279 2007: HPB is listed on the National Heritage List (no. 105935) under the EPBC Act 1999. This listing is part of the administration necessary for the World Heritage nomination being undertaken at that time. 2008: HPB is one of 11 sites across Australia by the Australian Government for World

272 No.5, September 1949, n.p. 273 Baskerville 2000, Heritage Listing in New South Wales, a Brief History. 274 State Planning Authority of New South Wales 1965 Hyde Park Barracks, pp. 5, 42 cited in Proudfoot 1990, “Brief history of the fabric.” 275 Betteridge 1981, “The Royal Mint and Hyde Park Barracks: Museum project,” p. 2. 276 See record of heritage listings in Heritage Council of New South Wales 1981, updated 1997, State Heritage Register listing entry for “Hyde Park Barracks.” 277 Heritage Council of New South Wales, 1981, updated 1997, State Heritage Register listing entry for “Hyde Park Barracks.” 278 City of Parramatta Council 2000, updated 2006, LEP listing entry for “Former Hyde Park Barracks.” 279 Pearson & Duncan 1995, “Study of World Heritage Values, Convict Places.”

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Date Event Heritage listing nominated serially (collectively as one listing), called “the Australian Convict Sites.” The other sites in New South Wales are: Cockatoo Island, Old Government House & Domain Parramatta, and the Great North Road; in Tasmania: Brickenden- Woolmers Estates, Darlington Probation Station, Cascades Female Factory, Port Arthur Historic Site, Coal Mines Historic Site; in Norfolk Island: Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area; in Western Australia: Fremantle Prison. 2010: HPB is one of 11 places in Australia to be registered as serially constituting the “Australian Convict Sites” on the World Heritage List (see Section 4 for more details) 2013-present: The Australian Heritage Council is considering the assessment of an historic precinct in Sydney for listing on the National Heritage Register, which includes HPB. Originally known as “Colonial Sydney” it may be re-named “Governor’s Domain and Civic Precinct.”280 2016: Sydney Living Museums (SLM) obtains a grant from the Australian Department of Environment to commission a Conservation Management Plan for HPB. 1950s In 1953 the building undergoes remodelling with “yet more door openings, partitioning and linings.” A walkway is cut through from level 2 to the District Court in the old Superintendent of Convicts quarters. 281

Figure 2.43: This 1960s photo of HPB shows the “jumble” of buildings around HPB before conservation works began in the Figure 2.42: 1950s photograph showing HPB situated mid-1970s. The photo is used to illustrate an Australia ICOMOS near the centre of the photo. The Registrar General’s Newsletter article in 1980 which discusses conservation building is on the left and the Equity Court, later approaches for the site.282 (Source: Department of Public Works Industrial Court (Building I), constructed in the 1920s via SLM) and removed late 1970s is visible at the rear of the barracks, overlooking the tennis court. (Source:

280 Minutes of the SHR Committee, Heritage Council of New South Wales, 2 May 2016, online. 281 Historic Houses Trust 1990, “Museum Plan.” 282 Domicelj 1980, “Elizabeth Farm.”

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Date Event Courtesy SLM)

Figure 2.44: Detail of a 1953 City of Sydney Water and Sewer Plan for Macquarie Street showing the footprint of the HPB complex with the original barracks building with a “jumble” of additions. (Source: Detail Sheet 3780, courtesy SLM)

1962-1975 Retention of HPB Fifteen years later, in 1962, a plan for new Law Courts and the redevelopment of southern Macquarie Street by Professor Gordon Stephenson retains HPB as an important element in the design. It is recognised that this building is one of outstanding merit. Together with the Mint and St. James' Church, it is considered to form a unique group of historic buildings which are to be preserved for future generations.283 Yet the decision to keep it is not finally made until 1975. 1963 Records Wing of the Land Titles Office The Registrar General’s building undergoes a major modernist extension in the “Sydney School” style, designed by Peter Hall (1931-1995) to house the Records Wing of the Land Titles Office, and positioned on the site of the former convict garden site.284 A wall approximately indicating the present southern boundary of HPB is built in 1963 when the modem extension is under construction. This wall represents the northern face of the original Southern range, and is intended to restore a sense of the compound of the convict period. It is built at the same height as the original wall, using stone from a demolished wall in the Gladesville Mental Hospital, slightly retooled. The stonemasons on the project apply modem masonry techniques. There is almost no knowledge of traditional methods at this time, and heritage considerations in the construction are not considered, according to the Andrew Andersons, a later Government Architect.285

283 Proudfoot 1990, “Brief history of the fabric,” caption to Image 31. 284 Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1996, “Conservation plan for perimeter structures,” pp.17, 20; Noel Bell Ridley Smith 2004, Conservation Management Plan NSW Department of Lands, pp. 1, 48, 52, 56, 75. 285 Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1996, “Conservation plan for perimeter structures,” p. 47.

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Figure 2.45: HPB Museum scale model of HPB, c.1990, accurately recreating the shape of HPB c. 1974, just before conservation works commenced on the place. (Source: contemporary photo of exhibit at HPB Museum, 2016)

1975-1979 Conservation works part 1 By the 1970s, HPB has survived proposals for relocation or replacement by courts, a new parliament house, an Anglican cathedral and an expressway.286 In 1975 the New South Wales Government finally decides to keep and restore HPB and The Mint.287 This first phase of works is undertaken before the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter is adopted by the Australian Heritage Commission in 1980 as the preferred guidelines for heritage conservation works nationally. It is still the early days of the heritage movement and many Burra Charter principles are typically not yet in common use, such as conducting extensive research and establishing what is significant about a place before commencing works, or keeping fabric from different eras of inhabitation intact where possible.288 Some of these principles may even be informed by lessons learnt during these early conservation works at HPB.289 Department of Public Works undertake conservation of HPB Under Government Architect Ted Farmer (1909-2001), the Department of Public Works has recently established an “Historic Buildings Section” to develop professional expertise for looking after the state government’s enormous holdings of historic architecture. 290 HPB is a major early project where conservation techniques are pioneered. Department of Public Works conservation architect Peter Bridges (1932-2001) describes innovative approaches used at HPB such as conveying the history of the place to tradespeople to help them better understand the context of their work; seriously considering whether to remove additions because “you weren't justified on taking off something which had been put there with deliberate purpose for enhancing the life and

286 Sydney Living Museums 2014, Hyde Park Barracks Museum Guidebook. 287 Thorp 2016, “Historic period archaeology,” 2.1; Historic Houses Trust 1990, “Museum Plan,” pp. 23-26. 288 Australia ICOMOS 1979, updated 2103 Burra Charter, “Preamble’ and articles 1, 3, 5, 6, 26, 27 and 28. 289 The conservation architect for the Department of Public Works on this project in these early years is Peter Bridges, who goes on to become one of the six heritage professionals who draft the original Burra Charter for Australia ICOMOS during 1979, see Hanna 2015 “The Writing of the Burra Charter.” 290 Peter Bridges oral history interviews with Bronwyn Hughes and Anne Warr, c.1992, recording and transcripts held by the New South Wales Government Architect’s Office.

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Date Event the activity of the building;” and investigating different cleaning techniques. He says: “Sydney sandstone should be treated like a baby's skin . . . We did an experiment with the HPB where we put an old fellow with a bucket and scrubbing brush and a little bit of soap and water, and sent him to work on the brickwork and see how far it went. It didn't do the whole job, but it was certainly better than what other people were doing with high pressure jets and things. There was a lot of damage done to buildings, especially brick buildings around this time.”291 The Department of Public Works (Department of Public Works) commences conservation works on HPB while the complex is still occupied by the Department of the Attorney General and Justice. 292 Windows on the main building are removed and replaced from the outside while courts are still sitting inside.293 Most of the external joinery (window bars and sashes) on HPB building is replaced with new timber. The ground floor replacement window panes are of conjectural design (see Section 3 for further discussion). Much of the west wall facing Macquarie Street is dismantled and reconstructed in 1975 by George Proudman and his team of masons from the Department of Public Works, using stone from the demolished wall and from other sources. Of the original north half of the west wall, only the north lodge and the north- west turret survive relatively intact. 294 1979-1987 Conservation works part 2 In 1979 the State Government makes the further decision to adaptively re-use HPB and The Mint as museums,295 to be managed initially by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (now known as the Powerhouse Museum). The decision is publicly announced on 12 June 1980 by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Works, Jack Ferguson (1924-2002).296 Neville Wran (1926-2014, premier between 1976 and 1986) also takes a great interest in the project, seeing it as part of his government’s legacy.297 The major conservation works are continued by the Department of Public Works under the Government Architect Andrew Andersons (1942-present).298 The emphasis of the second stage of conservation works is on restoring the physical fabric to its original convict phase. The building complex is stripped back to “the original” except along the north and east ranges. The poor quality additions that cluttered Greenway’s original courtyards are demolished and the many accretions that had enclosed the main barracks building removed.299

291 Ibid. 292 Potter 1981, “Excavation report,”, pp. 121–122 cited in Elmoos 2006, “The Hyde Park Barracks, a brief history.” 293 Historic Houses Trust, 1990, “Hyde Park Barracks Museum Plan.” 294 Varman 1994, “Background report West Compound Wall,” p. 41. 295 Thorp 2016, “Historic period archaeology,” 2.1; Historic Houses Trust 1990, “Museum Plan,” pp. 23-26. 296 Betteridge 1981, “The Royal Mint and Hyde Park Barracks: Museum project,” pp. 2, 17. 297 Lucas Stapleton Johnson & Partners interview with Department of Public Works project architect David Turner, 8 June 2016. 298 Sydney Living Museums 2014, Hyde Park Barracks Museum Guidebook; Heritage Council of New South Wales 1981, updated 1997; Potter c1981, “Excavation Report,” pp. 121-122 cited in Crook et al. 2003, “Assessment of Historical and Archaeological Resources,” p. 14. 299 Elmoos 2006, “The Hyde Park Barracks, a brief history.”

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Figure 2.46 (left): Photo of conservation works c.1980 showing repair works being undertaken on one of t ground floor windows on the façade of HPB. (Source: Photo by David Turner, courtesy David Turner)

Figure 2.47 (left): Photo of conservation works c.1980 showing the numbering of floorboards in the interior of HPB before being removed for repair works, so they may be precisely replaced in the same position. (Source: Photo by David Turner, courtesy David Turner)

The plans for the museum set off a public debate about how the HPB building should be conserved. A newspaper article in August 1980 describes the conflict as the “’Purists’ versus the ‘Trendies’.”300 Archaeologist Wendy Thorp notes that after two ground floor rooms in the barracks building are excavated without archaeological expertise, the Heritage Council of New South Wales commences discussions with the Public Works Department. She suggests that “significant design changes” are consequently made to the conservation works “such as the removal of a lift from the main barracks building and modification of air-conditioning. [Also] the Heritage Council recommended that a report be prepared that would assess the significance of the site and its archaeological possibilities. . . [This is perhaps] the first serious flexing of the [NSW] Heritage Act [1977] and its protection for archaeological evidence.”301 Soon, the conservation works are being overseen by a multi-disciplinary team of architects, historians, archaeologists and museologists.302 Archaeologists are involved to an unprecedented degree in respect for the archaeological value of the building and its site.303

300 L. Norman, Financial Review 8/8/1980. 301 Thorp 2016, “Historic period archaeology,” 1.2. 302 Emmett Peter and Collins, Lynn c. 1994, Hyde Park Barracks, p.8; Australian Heritage Council 2007, “Hyde Park Barracks,” National Heritage Listing entry; Sydney Living Museums 2014, Hyde Park Barracks Museum Guidebook. 303 Proudfoot 1990, “Brief history of the fabric,” p. 33.

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Figure 2.48 (left): 1981 photograph by archaeologist Wendy Thorp showing the temporarily exposed footings of the Equity Court building at the rear of HPB. (Source: Thorp, 2016 “Historic period archaeology”) Figure 2.49 (right): 1981 photograph of Stage 2 excavations in the north-eastern, ground floor rooms of the barracks building, showing the foundations of early room partitions (Source: Thorp, 2016 “Historic period archaeology”)

1980-1981 A “seminal” historical archaeological excavation In 1980 and 1981 the Department of Public Works commissions a large-scale public archaeological excavations, funded in part by the Heritage Council of New South wales and assisted by numerous volunteers.304 Archaeologists Carol Powell, Wendy Thorp, Patricia Burritt and Dana Mider are key participants in this early work.305 Archaeologist consultant Wendy Thorp offers a useful overview of the archaeological works and outcomes during these years and since.306 Stage 1 excavations of the site, from August to December 1981 constitute the initial stage, as Thorp explains: “In essence this work would now be described as an assessment, testing and evaluation of potential resources, determination of a statement of significance and development of a management strategy. It was, at the time, described as a cultural resources report.” The archaeological works undertaken in 1981 are known as Stage 2 or the “Salvage programme,” again explained by Thorp: “The excavation was undertaken over fourteen weeks, with thirteen archaeologists, a conservator, photographer, site director, field director and approximately 250 volunteers. A total of thirty trenches were excavated divided into areas A and C; area B was a designation for trenches in the Royal Mint site.”307

304 Crook et al. 2003,“Assessment of Historical and Archaeological Resources, p. 14; Elmoos 2006, “The Hyde Park Barracks, a brief history;” Thorp 2016, “Historic Period Archaeology,” 1.2, 2.2. 305 Elmoos 2006, “The Hyde Park Barracks, a brief history.” 306 Thorp 2016, “Historic Period Archaeology.” 307 Ibid., 2.3.3.

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Date Event 1984-2001 Parole Board / Offenders Review Board Created under the Probation and Parole Act 1983, the Parole Board occupies Court 26 on Level 2 of the eastern range (Building H), also using part of Level 1 for holding cells, witness rooms and staff rooms308 It considers cases of prisoners whose terms exceed three years, to determine their suitability for release from custody and return to the community under supervision. It also deals with breaches and revocation of the terms and conditions of a parole order. When this institution vacates HPB in 2001, it is the end of more than 170 years formal occupation by the legal fraternity, marking HPB as “one of the longest continually occupied judicial sites in the country.”309 “It is interesting to note that this last of all government institutions (excluding the Museum) to occupy HPB has a strong connection with the role of original convict institution of 1819 and more particularly the Court of General Sessions (see above). Both have been concerned with law-breakers and their return to the community.”310 1984-1989 Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences at HPB The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences opens the HPB to the public in 1984, as the first museum of its kind to focus on the history of Sydney.311 The exhibition program during the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences phase is later described as: “the first of its kind, intended to ‘critically assess and celebrate the two centuries of Sydney’s existence.’ The history of Sydney was displayed in exhibits on the first and second floors of the central dormitory building, which included ‘Trade Union Banners,’ the ‘Changing Face of Sydney,’ and the ‘Country Comes to Town.’ The third level of the main building contained a historical overview of the Barracks named ‘Piecing Together the Past’ (exploring: ‘Why was the HPB built? How was it used? Why did it survive?’), although the emphasis was on its convict history with a reconstruction of one room as sleeping quarters and exhibits on ‘Macquarie’s Sydney’ and ‘Convict and Free.’”312

308 Davies et al. 2013, An Archaeology of Institutional Confinement. 309 Thorp 2016, “Historic period archaeology,” 4.4.5. 310 Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1996, “Conservation plan for perimeter structures,” p. 55. 311 Davies et al. 2013, “An archaeology of institutional confinement.” 312 Crook et al. 2003, “Assessment of Historical and Archaeological Resources, p. 24.

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Figure 2.50: Photograph of the restored barracks building by Solomon Mitchell, 1988. (Source: Caroline Simpson Library, SLM)

1990- Historic Houses Trust present Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, headed by Peter Watts (1949-present), takes over the running of the HPB Museum from the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, with a new interpretation strategy which focuses on the building and social history of its occupants. “The past decade has seen a major shift from a preoccupation with original architectural design to a greater focus on social history and use of the place by many occupants.”313 The museology of HPB, as a “museum of itself,” has also claimed critical attention.314 The new curator is Peter Emmett (c.1950-present), who develops an innovative interpretative approach for the place.315 For example, the cultural theorist Paul Carter, author of The Road to Botany Bay, is commissioned to develop a sound installation using historic writings from convicts, voiced by actors.316 Hammocks are installed in two rooms of Level 3 of the barracks building, where convict-era fabric was exposed during the restorations works, and visitors are invited to lie in them. Around 1990 meticulous architectural models of HPB are fabricated for inclusion in the museum’s permanent exhibition. Using the most accurate information available, they show the evolution of the place through different stages of its history, from construction to the present.

313 Ibid. 314 Davies et al. 2013, “An archaeology of institutional confinement” cites studies that have examined the museology of Hyde Park Barracks: De Silvey 2006, p. 334; Eggert 2009, pp. 31–40; Kelso 1995; Kirshenblatt-Gimblett 1998, p. 168; Lydon 1996 and Young 1992. 315 Emmett 1994, “Convictism.” This paper is based on a presentation given by Emmett to the International ICOMOS General Assembly in Sri Lanka, 1993. 316 Carter 1991. “Performing history, Hyde Park Barracks.”

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Date Event In order to acknowledge the different phases of the site’s history, the museum develops an interpretation strategy which acknowledges the site’s long post-convict history as a female immigration depot, government offices and law courts as well as having a particular emphasis on its convict origins: “Level 1, the area subject to the greatest change over time, has been adapted as an exhibition space with stark white walls and polished timber floors. Exhibitions are developed, and constantly changed, in this area which also introduces visitors to the museum and especially its convict history in the Greenway Gallery (the two large dormitories). Level 2, by contrast, has been reconstructed with paint schemes based upon paint scrapes to resemble the building as it was during its use by the courts. The spaces on this level are occupied by semipermanent exhibition structures, including large scale-models of the site showing different stages in its history, built around themes of ‘stories.’ Level 3, the relatively least altered part of the building, has been reconstructed as closely as possible to the period of convict habitation: the walls and floors are bare, and the roof structure is exposed; a dormitory of hammocks has been reconstructed.”317 1999 Australian Monument to the Great Irish Famine A memorial is installed into the southern perimeter wall in recognition of the role played by the HPB in providing a home for Irish orphan girls 1848-1852. The project is initiated by the Great Famine Commemoration Committee and the first stone laid by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, during her state visit to Australia in September 1998. The monument is unveiled by the Irish Ambassador to Australia and launched by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir William Deane on 28 August 1999.318 Tom Power as chair of the organising committee explains the sculpture: “The concept for a sculpture to commemorate the Irish Famine was initiated by Irish President, Mary Robinson. It was designed by Iranian artist Hossein Valamanesh in collaboration with his wife Angela and unveiled in September 1999. It recalls not only all those who suffered and died, but also those who survived and went on to contribute much to the development of Australia in the 19th century and beyond. The section of broken wall, rotated on its axis, represents the disruption of lives caused by social upheaval, conflict and famine. On glass panels are the names of Irish orphan girls, some of these fading away, hinting at the frailty of memory over time. A simple table penetrates the wall, with an empty bowl on the outside, signifying hunger and death, while on the inside the table is prepared for a meal. Under the solitary Lillypilly tree nearby is a gentle soundscape of Irish music, voices and sounds from the Australian bush. The sculpture reminds us of both Ireland’s important place in Australian history and the relevance of the HPB to the present day Irish community.”319 2003 La Trobe University’s collaborative “underfloor” archaeological study The Historic Houses Trust joins with La Trobe University and other heritage organisations

317 Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales 2010, Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, Management Plan. 318 Boukouvalas 2013, “A ‘metamorphosis of perspectives on the past,’” p. 68; Irish Famine Memorial website at http://www.irishfaminememorial.org/en/; Sydney Living Museums 2014, Hyde Park Barracks Museum Guidebook 319 Sydney Living Museums 2012, “Audio guide script.”

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Date Event to analyse the enormous collection of artefacts associated with HPB, supported by a series of Australian Research Council industry grants. The findings are published in at least three monographs, in 2003, 2006 and 2013.320 While their initial assessment includes the whole assemblage, the analysis and final reports address only the “underfloor” artefacts recovered from beneath the floorboards of Level 2 and Level 3 of the barracks building. (To date, the under-ground assemblage has not been wholly studied.) The 2003 report explains the context for the study: “The bulk of the HPB’ artefact collection was excavated between 1980 and 1981 when the site was developed for a museum. The remainder was recovered during monitoring works in the Museum grounds from 1982 to 1997. More than half the collection was retrieved from underfloor spaces of the main building and comprises a significant resource, regarded as being one of the most important collections in Australian historical archaeology.”321 The authors of the first report in 2003 note that already there have been more than 150 reports commissioned about the HPB since conservation works began in the 1970. They offer a useful overview of this research.322 The authors of the 2006 publication report that the “1979-81” excavations collected more than 33,000 artefacts from “subsurface” deposits and more than 61,000 artefacts from underfloor cavities. They estimate around 12 per cent of the assemblage relates to the convict-era occupation of HPB while nearly 88 per cent can be dated to post-1848 phases of occupation of the site.323 A more recent assessment by HPB curator Fiona Starr revises this estimate, suggesting that up to 20 per cent of the assemblage may relate to the convict era.324 2010 World Heritage nomination as one of 11 Australian convict sites HPB is one of 11 Australian Convict Sites inscribed as a serial listing on the World Heritage List in 2010 for their collective demonstration of the outstanding universal significance of the international forced migration of convicts, as it was implemented in Australia. In the Australian Government’s World Heritage Nomination of 2008, each of the 11 sites are proposed to represented varying aspects of the management and lives of convicts in Australia under two criteria of the World Heritage Operational Guidelines. Firstly the Australian Convict Sites are proposed to be an ensemble that illustrates a significant stage in history (criterion iv), that of the forced migration of convicts globally; under this criterion HPB is said to represent the “Reformation of convicts.” Secondly the Australian Convict Sites are associated with global developments in ideas and beliefs (criterion vi), specifically those concerning punishment and reform of criminals in the modern era; under this criterion HPB is said to represent “Penal transportation as dominant model.’325

320 Crook et al. 2003, “Assessment of Historical and Archaeological Resources; Crook et al. 2006, “An archaeology of institutional refuge;” and Davies et. al. 2013, “An archaeology of institutional confinement.” 321 Crook et al. 2003, “Assessment of Historical and Archaeological Resources, p. 7. 322 Ibid., p. 15. 323 Crook et. al. 2006, “An archaeology of institutional refuge,” p.9. 324 Starr 2015, “An archaeology of improvisation.” 325 Australian Government 2008, World Heritage Nomination, pp. 72-73.

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Date Event 2013 The Historic Houses Trust, the New South Wales State Government agency that manages HPB, changes its name to Sydney Living Museums (SLM). 2016 A new, comprehensive conservation management plan and interpretation master plan is commissioned for the whole of the HPB complex with funding from the Australian Government’s Department of Environment & Heritage.

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INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

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3 Physical Evidence

3.1 Description of the Place Generally The following description of the Hyde Park Barracks has been extracted from the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Nomination:1

“The site in the business district of Sydney was initially built to provide accommodation for male convicts who worked outside the barracks during the day. It later became a place of confinement for male secondary offenders. Hyde Park Barracks is an example of the use of the transportation to rehabilitate and integrate convicts into the penal colony, particularly during the era of Governor Macquarie. The site illustrates the success of the NSW penal colony and is associated with the large scale introduction of transportation by the major European powers in the modern era.

Hyde Park Barracks is a quadrangular complex situated at the southern end of Macquarie Street, Sydney's 'quality street' containing some of the city’s oldest and most important buildings. Its northern neighbour, the Sydney Mint (originally the southern wing of the General Hospital) today contains the Sydney Living Museums' headquarters.

The barracks complex was designed to be seen in the round on the other three sides: from the government Domain to the east, from Hyde Park to south, and primarily from the west front entered via Queens Square between the barracks and its sister building, St. James's Church.

The original complex comprised a central three-storey brick barracks set in a courtyard bounded by symmetrical ranges of buildings to the north and south and a stone perimeter wall. The central barracks building survives; but the only original sections of the perimeter wall are found on part of the northern and the western ranges including north-western pavilion, the two gate lodges, and the facade of the north- eastern pavilion. The southern range was completely demolished in 1909, and the eastern range gave way to a set of court buildings in 1943.

Since it was restored in the late 20th century, the Hyde Park Barracks has been open to the public as a museum of itself.”

1 Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Nomination, Commonwealth of Australia, January 2008; p. 22

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3.2 Survey of the Principal Components The place and its setting, contents and associated records were visually inspected by the authors on a number of occasions between March and July 2016. In addition, a number of earlier reports were relied on to form an understanding of the current configuration of the place. The most useful and comprehensive of these previous reports are:

 1990: Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners, “Hyde Park Barracks, Analysis of Physical Fabric” unpublished report commissioned by the Historic Houses Trust (referred to hereafter as the 1990 Report); and  1996: Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners, “Hyde Park Barracks, Queen’s Square, Sydney, Conservation Plan for Perimeter Structures,” unpublished report commissioned by the Historic Houses Trust.

As a result of the above investigations and review of past reports, the current configuration of the landscape and buildings were recorded and the history of the development of the place analysed. The following descriptions of the built fabric, setting and landscape aims to summarise the physical composition of the place and at the same time explain how each component reached their current configuration. More detail of each building, element and space is given in the detailed fabric surveys contained in Volume 3 of this report.

Likewise, the known resources related to Aboriginal and historic period archaeology associated with the place were reviewed to provide an overview of the current state of understanding of the archaeology. A detailed analysis of the Historic Period Archaeology of the place including the history of investigations and analyses is contained within Appendix 7 and an analysis of the existing documentation related to Aboriginal history and archaeology is included in Appendix 6.

Finally, the artefact assemblage associated with the archaeology and history of the place was reviewed to provide an overview of its current state leading to an assessment of significance.

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Figure 3. 1: Site plan of Hyde Park Barracks, 2016

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Figure 3. 2: Level 1 plan of the Hyde Park Barracks, 2016

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Figure 3. 3: Level 2 plan of the Hyde Park Barracks, 2016

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Figure 3. 4: Level 3 plan of the Hyde Park Barracks, 2016

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Figure 3. 5: Plan of existing site showing main landscape features, 2016

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3.3 Context

3.3.1 Pre-Barracks Archaeology Based on archaeological evidence to date, the Hyde Park Barracks is located on sandstone bedrock, which erodes to produce sandy soils. No original timber remains on the site, and it does not appear that sandstone was ever exposed on the site. However, the site was likely to have been covered with stands of tall trees; this is evident in early nineteenth century and eighteenth century images and evidence of tree roots and ash from cleared and burnt wood was found in several archaeological trenches. Holes from cicadas and beetles were found inside the barracks dormitory building in the ground floor; these infer the presence of trees growing close by.

The barracks was almost certainly built on sloping ground, falling to the east: the original ground surface was revealed in several trenches as part of archaeological excavations undertaken in the 1980s. This evidence showed that the original ground levels vary from around 500-600mm below the present courtyard towards the western end of the site to up to a metre and more in the centre and eastern portions of the site. This can also be shown in the differences between floor levels excavated in the northern range and the gate lodges at the western entrance.

Soils may have been quite shallow and poor and may have been no more than 130mm deep; this was the conclusion from several analyses of soil profiles revealed in 1980 and 1981. The site is also likely to have had water moving across it that may have caused some erosion; there was evidence of siltation in some archaeological trenches.

Figure 3. 6: Sydney - Capital New South Wales, ca.1800, artist unknown, showing the early development of the settlement. The prominent eastern ridgeline is seen in the background before the construction of the General Hospital or Hyde Park Barracks. (Source: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, Digital Order Number: a1528056)

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Aboriginal Archaeological Potential The place is located on the upper end of a low flat ridgeline (spur) that divides the Sydney Cove and Farm Cove catchments. Aboriginal people are likely to have used the spur to reach these coves, and may also have camped within the locality of the Barracks site.

Intact Aboriginal archaeological remains are likely to be restricted to the uppermost 10-50cm of the original soil profile, where it has survived across the site. Other isolated or low density remains may also occur in disturbed contexts, such as incorporated into historical archaeological deposits. Any intact archaeological remains of past Aboriginal use of the site will likely be stone artefacts, as other materials are likely to have long-since decomposed. Organic remains of the Aboriginal use of the site are unlikely to have survived in the acidic sandy soil of the Barracks site.

Given the history of the use of the place, there are likely to be sections of the property in which no potentially intact soil horizons have survived. Historical archaeological excavations in the 1980s have suggested that pockets of original topsoil do remain within the property. Archaeological investigations also suggest that the eastern portion of the site was levelled through filling with clay prior to the construction of the Barracks. It is therefore possible that the original soil profile survives relatively intact in these areas. (Refer to Historic Period Archaeology below.)

Based on current available information, it is not possible to map exactly where original topsoil horizons may occur. It is also not known whether these soil horizons contain any Aboriginal archaeological remains from prior to the construction of the barracks. The only way to determine this would be through archaeological investigation, and also through observation of any intrusions that are to be made into the ground surface across the site in the future.

No Aboriginal archaeological remains have yet been recorded within the site; however there are nine currently registered Aboriginal sites within a kilometre of the property.2 Most of these are stone artefacts located during archaeological excavations, though they also include a historically recorded burial, a surface find of a stone hatchet from behind the adjacent St Marys Cathedral and a glass scraper from the First Government House site.3 These recordings were not made as part of a systematic study, but as the result of discovery during construction projects and none have been radiocarbon dated. It is not possible therefore to determine on this basis the way in which Aboriginal people used the Hyde Park Barracks site and surrounds in the past. Regardless, from detailed studies of the broader area some conclusions can be reached about the likely use of the area by Aboriginal people and the potential for archaeological remains of that use likely to have survived.4

Given the relatively sparse Aboriginal archaeological record within the CBD, any archaeological evidence is automatically afforded a degree of significance which may differ from other areas with more plentiful archaeological evidence, that is there is the potential for any Aboriginal archaeological evidence uncovered to be considered rare and of exceptional significance. Refer to Appendix 6 for further details.

2 OEH AHIMS Aboriginal Site Register search 14-04-2016 of 4km. x 4km. area centred on Hyde Park Barracks (GDA Coordinates in Zone 56 Easting 332675-336675, Northing 6248850-6252850) 3 www.sydneybarani.com.au/tag/archaeology [accessed 5/7/16]. 4 Attenbrow; 2010a.

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3.3.2 Siting Hyde Park Barracks is located along a prominent ridge dividing the creek valleys of Farm Cove to the east and Sydney Cove to the west. The ridge extends along what is now Macquarie Street to Bennelong Point, and the ground slopes steeply down to the Domain in the east in particular.

Hyde Park Barracks is situated at the southern end of Macquarie Street; Sydney's “quality street” containing some of the city’s oldest and most important buildings. Governor Macquarie proclaimed his eponymous street in 1810. It formed, and still forms, the eastern edge of the city bordered by the Government Domain. Macquarie planned to use the alignment to erect the three wings of the Rum Hospital (or Sydney Hospital), taking advantage of its elevated position, thought to be conducive to health. He also appropriated a portion of the open space at the southern end of Macquarie Street that had been set aside for public recreation in order to accommodate a convict barracks and a courthouse (repurposed during construction into St James’s Church with the Supreme Court building constructed later to the east). He named the remainder of the open space to the south “Hyde Park” (refer to Figure 3.6 below).

The barracks complex was originally constructed attached to the southern boundary wall of the Rum Hospital, but was designed to be seen in the round on the other three sides: from the Government Domain to the east, from Hyde Park to south, and primarily from the west where the compound is entered via the public square (Queen’s Square) between the barracks and its sister building, St. James's Church to the west.

The barracks has never officially been part of Macquarie Street (its main address is still Queen’s Square). Indeed, a plan of 1863 shows Macquarie Street terminated by a wall on both its eastern and western side, the eastern wall formed by an extension of the General Hospital's southern boundary wall. This section of the wall was rebuilt when the Sydney Mint was established in the hospital in 1854 and can be seen today behind the large fig trees in the forecourt to the left as one enters the site (see Figure 3.28).

Figure 3. 7: Detail from 1863 plan by John Armstrong transmitted to the Acting Surveyor General entitled “Plan of the sites of the Immigration Depot, District Court, Vaccine Institution, Colonial Architects Offices &c. with the land attached thereto in the Parish of St James City of Sydney”. The plan illustrates the physical separation between Macquarie Street and Queen’s Square formed by a stone wall (circled). (Source: Department of Lands, courtesy of HPBM archives)

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Although essentially a walled compound, designed to securely confine its inhabitants each night, the barracks perimeter did not present a forbidding prison-like aspect. Nor was it particularly successful in achieving containment of the convicts with frequent night time escapes reported. Commissioner Bigge remarked in his 1822 report: “the leading object of security has been sacrificed to that of exhibiting with advantage and effect the regular proportion of the building that they enclose.”5

It was an extraordinarily ambitious set-piece, incorporating no less than seven domes, four rusticated stone corner pavilions and a pedimented main building: the outline of a Greek temple in brick.

It also formed part of a larger piece of urban design that along with Macquarie Place, Bridge Street is one of the first public squares in Australia. This open space was defined to the south by Hyde Park, the entry to Macquarie Street formed the northern boundary with the Hyde Park Barracks to the east and to the west, on axis with the main barracks building, the similar temple front of Greenway’s St James’s Church (1819- 1824). The square was known later as Chancery Square in line with the various judicial buildings in the precinct, including Hyde Park Barracks, and later in the 20th century renamed Queen’s Square. According to Greenway’s later description, the public square was to be entered via “a screen of the Doric order”6 presumably intended to close Macquarie Street and link the pair of buildings.

Figure 3. 8: Extract from image entitled “Part of Sydney & St James' Church from the square called the Race Course” dated 1844, attributed to Jacob Janssen showing the early setting of the place (Source: SLNSW SSV / 134/Digital Order No. c022110001)

5 Kerr, J S, 1984; Design for Convicts, Library of Australian History, p. 40 6 Broadbent, J. & Hughes, J., 1997; Francis Greenway Architect, Historic Houses Trust of NSW, Glebe, p. 72

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3.3.3 Current Setting and Views Today it is hard to appreciate this accomplished vision. The changes wrought by twentieth century traffic engineering have effectively continued a widened Macquarie Street through Queen’s Square; and the construction of the Registrar General’s building (1909-1913) at the south-eastern corner of the complex caused the demolition of the barracks’ southern perimeter wall in 1909. In addition, the close visual relationship between Greenway’s pair of buildings is partially obscured by a later porch added to the east elevation of St. James’s Church (to a design by John Verge) masking the facade that corresponded with the Barracks opposite.7 Regardless the visual relationship between the two buildings remains particularly from the Main Barrack Building at levels 2 and 3 looking directly west to the front façade of the church. The ground level views between the two however are somewhat hampered by through traffic and the typical accumulation of street furniture, signage and traffic lights etc. (refer to View V1, Figures 3.9 and 3.10).

Figure 3. 9: The principal view of the Barracks as seen Figure 3. 10: View V1 from level 2 within the Main from Queen’s Square (View V1). Barracks Building looking directly west provides a clear view of the front elevation of St James’s Church. The Queen’s Square Law Courts building is seen to the right of frame. Today the whole area is overshadowed by the looming mass of the Queen’s Square Law Courts building (1976, McConnel, Smith and Johnson Architects) to the northwest (see Figure 3.10).

The southern elevation of the complex was obviously considered important as perceived from Hyde Park. The formal layout of the perimeter wall, pavilions and the main building would have been strongly apparent from the park (see Figure 3.12). This view has been largely lost today due to the demolition of the southern wall, the introduction of the Registrar General’s Building at the eastern end and the thick foliage of the park’s trees (refer to View V2, Figure 3.11). Regardless, the western portion of the complex and the west and south elevations of the main building remain visually prominent when viewed from the northern end of Hyde Park. The reconstruction of the south-western corner pavilion would recover more of the original effect.

7 Ibid., p. 72

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Figure 3. 11: View V2 of the Barracks as seen from the Figure 3. 12: Detail from John Rae’s 1842 watercolour northern end of Hyde Park. entitled “Hyde Park, St James Parsonage Dispensary, afterwards the Mint, and Emigration Barracks” as seen from the northern end of Hyde Park. (Source: SLNSW, DG SV* / Sp Coll / Rae / 16)

The urban context on the eastern side of the site was less formal in its presentation. The eastern perimeter wall was always the rear of the official barrack compound and it was here that the privies and washhouse were placed. However, as it bordered the Governor’s Domain, other uses were allowed to accumulate immediately outside the eastern perimeter wall: e.g. the flogging yard, garden and various sheds and eventually by the 1820s the Colonial Architect’s offices and Town Surveyor’s offices, carpenters and joiners sheds (refer also to below). The eastern façade of Greenway’s north-eastern corner pavilion survives Figure 3. 13: Glimpse view of east elevation of the but the site is largely obscured from the Domain by Barracks with Land Titles Office adjacent (View V3). the 1960s extension to the Land Titles Office and vegetation (refer to View V3, Figure 3.13).

Internal views of the main barracks building and surrounding perimeter buildings were re-established in 1979 with the removal of the various accretions and various legal, judicial and administrative buildings that had accumulated at the place since the 1850s, internal views of the main barracks building and surrounding surviving perimeter buildings and walls were once again revealed. Likewise, uninterrupted views of all four elevations of the main barracks building had been long obscured and as a result of the extensive restoration and conservation works undertaken in the late 20th century the configuration and symmetry of the complex has been interpreted and can now be experienced (refer to Figure 3.16).

The historic relationship between the Mint (former General Hospital) and the place is also most clearly viewed within, along the shared vehicular drive leading along the northern side of the north perimeter range of buildings (refer to View V4, Figure 3.14). It is here that the original (1811) south boundary wall of the

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General Hospital is able to be seen, adapted as it has been into the rear elevation of the northern Barracks buildings.

Figure 3. 14: View V4 looking westward along shared Figure 3. 15: General view of the northern courtyard driveway between the Hyde Park Barracks complex (to area showing available internal views (LSJP, 2016) the left) and the Mint (to the right) showing the 1811 boundary wall between the two (now forming part of the north elevation wall of the northern perimeter buildings)

Figure 3. 16: Aerial view of the Barracks complex showing internal views

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The World Heritage buffer zone for the Hyde Park Barracks (refer to Figure 3.17) provides an appropriate setting for the place, encompassing as it does the principal visual catchment of the place, defined by both clear, direct views as well as glimpse views of the Main Barrack Building within the broader urban context. The buffer zone also encompasses those pieces of land that were originally part of the Hyde Park Barracks compound (i.e. the location of the original south perimeter range and the eastern compound). Regardless, an expanded setting for the place could be considered based on the historic development of colonial Sydney and encompassing other key colonial government sites such as the site of the first Government House, Observatory Hill, the Domain, Wynyard Park (location of former military barracks) etc.

Figure 3. 17: Aerial view of the locality indicating setting, view catchments and view lines for the Hyde Park Barracks.

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3.4 Site Elements

3.4.1 The Complex The original complex as designed and constructed by Greenway comprised a central three-storey brick barracks set in a courtyard bounded by symmetrical ranges of single storey buildings to the north and south; and a stone perimeter wall 10'6" (3.2 metres) high to the east and west. Each corner of the complex was defined by a domed corner pavilion with two domed gate lodges either side of the front (west) entry gates.

Bilateral symmetry ruled the design in two directions. The strong east-west axis is the direction taken by someone moving through the building, through the main gateway in the west to the front door and down the central corridor. The north-south axis passed through the centre line of the main barracks building and the ridges of the two taller sections of the northern and southern ranges: the original kitchen and Superintendent’s room.

Today, Greenway fabric surviving in the standing structures at the place consists of the main barracks building, the western perimeter wall with gate entry, gate lodges and north-western corner pavilion and portions of the northern range; although many of these components have been the subject of various alterations and adaptation and finally restoration and reconstruction works.

New components have also been added to the complex following demolition of original buildings and structures including a new southern boundary wall and Building I now defining the eastern perimeter. As a result the configuration of the original complex has been (in part) reconstructed and interpreted. Refer to below for further details.

Figure 3. 18: Overlay of S L Harris’ plan of HPB, dated c1824 showing the bilateral axes crossing the compound. (Source: State Library of New South Wales: ML C225, Digital Order No. a1357039, overlay LSJP, 2016)

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3.4.2 The Boundaries of the Place The legal boundaries of the place have retracted progressively over its lifetime. From its initial establishment the land associated with the Hyde Park Barracks included the main walled compound together with a triangular piece of land extending to the east and terminating at what is now Hospital Road. Although not considered part of the formal Barracks compound, it appears that the area was fenced or walled on its southern and north eastern sides to separate the area from the Government Domain and was used for subsidiary services including the flogging yard (recorded as part of archaeological investigations in 1980/81) and privies. There was also at least one separate entry into the eastern triangle on its southern boundary, as seen in S.L. Harris’ plan of the place (see Figure 3.18 above).

Figure 3. 19: Detail from early (undated) plan of the Parish of St James showing the boundary of the Hyde Park Barracks (labelled here as “prisoners barrack”) as encompassing the east triangle area of land and defined on its north-eastern side by the wall of the Government Domain (Source: LPI Historical Land Records Viewer)

Figure 3. 20: Overlay of current site plan showing boundary of study area with extract from 1870 plan of the site showing the original site boundaries including those areas no longer part of the site: the eastern compound and the location of the southern perimeter buildings (Source: “Plan of the site of the Immigration Depot, District Court, Vaccine Institution, Colonial Architects Office etc…” 1870, AO Map 58, courtesy of SLM, overlay by LSJP, 2016)

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However, as government owned land, the eastern triangle was soon developed for other government uses not linked to the administration of convicts (including the Colonial Architect’s offices). Given the separate access it appears that this area operated separately from the Barracks compound, although for a time it seems the area was shared with a mix of convict and other government uses. The whole of the compound appears to have been further enclosed by a second fence line located to the south by the mid to late 19th century, defining the alignment of Prince Albert Road (see Figure 3.21) with a gateway allowing access into the eastern area of the site.

The boundaries of the place remained as such until c.1894 when the western portion of the southern range was demolished to accommodate a realignment of Prince Albert Road.8 In 1909 when the remaining southern range of perimeter buildings were demolished to make way for the construction of the Registrar- General’s building, the boundary was again reconfigured and the southern boundary was moved northwards, with a shared right-of-way constructed leading from Prince Albert Road to the rear of the Registrar General’s building (see Figure 3.37). It appears that a new boundary wall was also constructed to the south of the shared roadway and the location of this fence is still evident in the configuration of the present legal southern boundary of the property.

Figure 3. 21: 1870s photograph attributed to Charles Figure 3. 22: c.1914 photograph of the north-eastern Pickering of the southern elevation of the Colonial wall to the eastern triangle with the Registrar General’s Architect’s office located behind (to the east) of the building in the background. The image is titled “Old Barracks compound. (Source: State Library of NSW, a Wall in Domain built by Governor Macquarie”. (Source: a089251r, SPF / 251) State Library of NSW, Government Printing Office 1 – 32279) Also as a result of the construction of the Registrar General’s building the eastern allotment of land outside of the main compound is usurped by the Registrar General’s department and it appears that all buildings previously located in this area were demolished and replaced with a tennis court and landscaping (see Figure 2.42). Regardless, the original wall defining the north-eastern boundary of the triangle, separating this area from the adjacent Government Domain appears to have remained in place until the 1960s (unconfirmed).

8 Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1996, “Conservation plan for perimeter structures,” p. 66.

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Today the angled north-eastern boundary of the eastern triangle land that originally formed part of the Barracks compound is still reflected in the alignment of Hospital Road to the east. The northern, western and eastern boundaries of the compound also remain essentially as they were originally established and continue to be defined by built structures. However, the southern boundary no longer relates to the original compound enclosure and seems to result from the series of changes that have occurred along this boundary. Refer also to Section 3.8.1: Development Sequence Diagrams)

3.4.3 Courtyard The appearance and treatment of the courtyard surrounding the Main Barracks Building is the result of the works undertaken by the Department of Public Works and the Government Architects Branch in the late 20th century. Following the removal of a large number of accretions, the insertion of services and the completion of an extensive archaeological investigation (refer to below), the courtyard was restored and the approach taken for the interpretation of the place resulted in the courtyard being de-cluttered and gravelled, leaving an amalgam of authentic and reconstructed buildings around it.

Based on early plans, images and descriptions of the place, the courtyard within the complex appears to have been left open and empty apart from a bell mounted in a timber structure (shown in the George William Evans c1819 watercolour “Convict Barrack Sydney NSW,” see Figure 2.1). In Bigge’s report (1822) three “large and open” sheds are mentioned built in the corners of the courtyard against the eastern and western walls. The sheds were for the convicts to socialise before they went to bed and were permitted to make fires there during the winter. The S L Harris plan (1824, see Figure 3.18) shows four such sheds.9

No doubt there were other temporary or movable objects left there from time to time and archaeological investigations of the 1980s revealed the following:

 Brick paving found in the south-eastern corner of the courtyard probably from the convict period of occupation;  Sandstone paving found north of the main entrance to the site – possibly early nineteenth century;  Part of the southern range of the precinct was found in the area of the kitchen from the original period of construction; a length of the front northern wall was exposed; and  A sandstone “landing” attached to the western face of the barracks and possibly part of the original construction.10 From the 1840s onward with the introduction of other uses the courtyard was progressively developed with (initially) ancillary structures such as fences effectively dividing the courtyard to allow shared use of the space within the walls of the complex.

When the Government Printing Office moved into the northern range in 1848, the northern part of the courtyard was divided by a new stone wall and a gateway was cut through the western perimeter wall (refer also to Section 3.8.1: Development Sequence Diagrams). This was followed shortly thereafter by the construction of the Vaccine Institute which effectively separated the northern courtyard from the Main Barracks Building and southern courtyard buildings. Likewise, the Immigration Depot and Asylum period

9 Varman, R, 1993; “Hyde Park Barracks Stratigraphy” unpublished report 10 Thorp, W., 2016

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(1848-1887) resulted in the introduction of dividing fences and other ancillary structures (see Figure 3.20) as did the period of use of the southern range by the NSW Volunteer Rifles.

By the mid to late 20th century, primarily as a result of the intensive use of the place by the judiciary and numerous government departments, a steady accumulation of ad hoc additions cluttered the courtyard, some attached to the ground floor of the main barracks building, some with upper level bridges (see Figures 3.29 to 3.32 below).

There is an extensive sub-surface archaeological resource that is derived from both nineteenth and twentieth century occupation located throughout the courtyard which was (in part) revealed mainly as part of the courtyard clearance in 1984 which was monitored by archaeologist Graham Wilson.11

Evidence uncovered at that time is just a fraction of what remains in the ground and included:

Immigration Phase  An area of brick paving found that could have been laid in c. 1848.  A brick dish drain in the northern courtyard was uncovered and a rubble surface was found that predates 1855 and could be from the latest phase of barracks occupation or early immigration phase.  Part of a brick privy was exposed; it was dated to between 1856 and 1867.  The slab foundation for the bath house constructed for the immigration barracks between 1865 and 1867 was located in the north-eastern corner of the courtyard.  Foundations of the southern gatekeeper’s lodge constructed between 1868 and 1887. Vaccine Institute  Foundations of the Vaccine Institute of 1855 were uncovered and documented from both the northern and southern wall.  Foundations were recorded of brick privies adjacent to the northern gatehouse (Building B) and adjacent to where the Vaccine Institute building had been located.  Sandstone footings from additions made to the Institute at the eastern end between 1855 and 1867 – purpose unknown.  Foundations of a stairwell attached to northern range of buildings before 1873 (or related to the courts era). Courts and Offices  Some foundations of the 1887 Equity Court were exposed.  An addition to the southern gatehouse made after 1887 and another made between 1887 and 1900.  Brick footings associated with offices constructed on the southern side of the barracks after 1887.  A gully trap close to the southern gate house made after 1887.  Foundations of caretaker’s quarters between the northern gatehouse and Vaccine Institute between 1887 and 1889.  Brick foundation of a structure at the north-western corner of the main barracks building dated between 1887 and 1830.

11 Wilson, G; 1986

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 Foundation of a verandah added to the north-eastern range of buildings after 1887.  Foundations of a court building laid over the site of the Vaccine Institute between 1889 and 1930.  Kerb associated with a path close to the northern range of buildings after 1889. Unidentified  Several brick piers from an unidentified structure.  Two gully traps from an unknown date.  Brick footing attached to the northern range of buildings after 1889.  Brick-lined pit with a sandstone base constructed for drainage before 1889.

Permanent Reference Area: Archaeology At the conclusion of the initial excavations in 1980/81 recommendations were made concerning the future of archaeological evidence that remained on the site. These included some broad zoning categories for the precinct. One of these categories described a “permanent reference site”. This was a portion of land that was intended to be preserved in perpetuity as an example of an undisturbed stratigraphic sequence including all features, soils and relics that may have survived there.12 At Hyde Park Barracks this was located in the north-eastern corner of the northern courtyard. Refer to Figure 3.85. Since that time this area has had the surface stripped and service trenches have been excavated through it and also disturbed by roots of the lilli pilli tree.

Landscaping in the Courtyard Early paintings, prints and photographs also indicate that various trees have been located within the courtyard, including most notably a Canary Island palm directly in the front of the main entry to the Barracks building. The western portion of courtyard, directly in front of the main barracks building began to be developed as a garden area by the late 1840s. Early plans consistently show a large, circular garden bed with surrounding plantings (see Figure 3.30), eventually enclosing a carriage loop with a central island and the palm tree that became a cause celébrè in the late 20th century and was eventually transplanted to the front of the Art Gallery of NSW.

Today, the only landscaping located within the compound are the recent Weeping Lilli Pilli trees (Waterhousia floribunda), one on each side, to the north and south of the main barracks building. The remainder of the courtyard is open and gravelled with a small number of site features including benches, two dish drains (one either side of the Main Barracks Building) and signage etc. (refer also to below).

12 Burritt, P (1981); Historical Archaeology and the Sydney Mint and Hyde Park Barracks 1980-1981; 151

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Figure 3. 23: View of lilli pilli tree in the northern Figure 3. 24: View of paved section of courtyard courtyard in front of Building G. The archaeological extending along the southern boundary of the complex, permanent reference area is located close to the providing a walking path from the west boundary wall to base of this tree (Source: LSJP, 2016) the Land Titles Office to the east (Source: LSJP, 2016) The current legal boundaries of the place effectively cut off the south-eastern corner of the complex to allow pedestrian access into the Land Titles Office building located to the east. Rather than the adjoining allotment being defined or separated from the Barracks by a fence, the alignment of this boundary is indicated by sandstone paving and garden beds (see Figure 3.24). The paving is extended along the southern boundary of the compound, taking in the Irish Famine Memorial and leading to the southern pedestrian entry in the western boundary.

3.4.4 Forecourt Based on early paintings and images of the place, the forecourt area appears originally to have been unpaved and no clear distinction was made between a formal forecourt or entry area to the barracks compound and the open public square immediately to the west, Queen’s Square (see Figure 3.25).

The earliest feature located in the forecourt area appears to the northern garden bed which first appears in photographs in the early 1870s (see Figure 3.26). This garden bed running along the Mint boundary wall remains in place today and holds two fig trees which appear to have been planted in the early 1870s (see Figure 3.24).

By the 1860s (if not earlier), Prince Albert Road begins to be more clearly defined as roadway, connecting to King Street and Macquarie Street through Queen’s Square and a forecourt area to the west of the Barrack compound starts to appear (see Figure 3.30).

From this point until the late 20th century, the forecourt area was landscaped with semi-circular beds created either side of the entrance gates while the forecourt area became more formalised, with improved road treatments such kerbs and guttering.

In c.1987 for the Bicentenary, a statue to Prince Albert is erected on a sandstone plinth to the south of the main entry gates to the Barracks. (The statue was positioned in Queen’s Square to complement the statue to Queen Victoria previously located in the centre of Queen’s Square and now placed on the western side of Macquarie Street opposite the Prince Albert statue.)

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