Cockatoo Island has a long history from its aboriginal heritage and convict use to its ship building past. All of these are on display at the island so that visitors can appreciate its varied and important history.

Getting There

Access to Cockatoo Island is easy using Sydney Ferries from Circular Quay.  The ferry terminal on the island is close to the information centre. This is a good place to make your first stop. The staff there will give you a free map as well as direct you to any specific place of interest you want to see.

Near the information centre is a café which has magnificent views across Sydney Harbour and towards the bridge. It’s a great place to sit and relax while soaking up the peace and quiet there.

Exploring Cockatoo Island

The first place we decided to explore was the upper part of the island, which we accessed by climbing a stairway. This area has old convict ruins consisting of the guardhouse and convict barracks. After looking though these we walked past some of the historic buildings there and walked through the ship building museum. This detailed Cockatoo Island’s ship building history and importance to the Australia particularly during World War Two

Ship Building

Back down at the lower level of the island we saw the old slipway where ships were built and launched. Several of the old cranes are still there although looking very rusty.

Nearby are the remains of old workshops and machine rooms. These are large impressive buildings, now empty but a reminder of what once happened here.

Another interesting place was the tunnel under the hill. You can walk through it from one side of the island to the other. Fully lit, it was fun to walk through.

Getting back to Circular Quay was easy as there is an electronic time-table at the wharf showing when the next ferry is due.

Entry to Cockatoo Island is free, so for the price of the ferry ticket you can have a full day’ enjoyment here.

For other ideas about what to see in Sydney, read some of our other posts.[ctct form=”41″]