Designed by convict architect Francis Greenway, the Hyde Park Barracks housed 15,000 male convicts in government employment between 1819 and 1848. Later it became a female immigration depot and a government asylum for infirm, destitute women.

Explore the convict experience, get spooked by the SoundScape, lie in a convict hammock and discover the daily lives of other occupants at this popular landmark in the historic precinct of Macquarie Street. There is a free archaeological display on the ground floor.

The Hyde Park Barracks Museum Shop specialises in books on Australian colonial history. The Hyde Park Barracks Cafe is also open daily.

This site is one of the 11 Australian Convict Sites listed as World Heritage. In Sydney there are four convict sites.