The women were treated to strict discipline by the authorities. All of their letters were opened and read by the matron who lived with the immigrant women and chaperoned their daily activities. They slept two or three to a 180 x 90 cm bunk arranged in concentration in the dormitory rooms. The women had few possessions so the ownership of a trinket or lice comb was highly desirable. To keep the women busy while they waited for employment or to be picked up by family they were given sewing materials. In turn, they made sunbonnets, pinafores, quilts, knitted worsted stockings and repaired other textiles such as their bed sheets.
“…I hope I shant be kept here long for I shall go mad if I am not to be allowed to go out side the gates to see any one.. I have not slept very well tonight for the two baby [sic] were opposite [sic] to us as we sleep three in a bed..”
Female Immigrant staying in the depot, c. 1851, Immigrant Agent’s Correspondence, State Records NSW
When employment finally came for the women there was great relief as this offered them the opportunity to escape the retched conditions of the depot. Most women were employed as domestic servants, others were cooks, nurses, laundresses, needlewomen, housemaids and farm servants for middle class families. They were given board and lodgings, however their wage was most commonly less than that of other domestic workers. The contracts that were signed by the women, the employer, and the depot administration ordinarily stipulated a period of employment lasting 3 months. Many of the women, finding great hardship even after leaving the depot and securing initial work, returned to be admitted to the Hard Park Asylum for Infirm and Destitute Women. The Female Immigration Depot was finally closed in 1886 with the entrance of Government and legal offices into the site.
Hyde Park Asylum for Infirm and Destitute Women [1862-1886]
Above: Hyde Park Asylum cap marked with “HPA” and a broad arrow Laundry Stamp, Hyde Park Barracks Museum Collection
More than 200 women lived in the asylum at any one time. The records of this period of occupation is scarce, and is available only for the ambivalent actions of rates that brought the women’s belongings into nests under the floorboards. This material rested next to deliberately hidden objects that the women set aside for safekeeping.
Before the introduction of pensions to support the elderly convicts, the Government ran charitable institutions to support these destitute women. The asylum was not the first in the colony. It was created to take off pressure from the overcrowded Benevolent Society who housed women. Other asylums had been built for supporting men including one at Parramatta and another in Liverpool.
In the summer of 1862 the women were brought from the Benevolent Society’s asylum by rail, arriving at the Central railway station and making their way to the Hyde Park site. The asylum occupied the top floor of the barracks, with the lower floors remaining for use as a depot for female immigrants. The asylum was nearly always overcrowded and girls would have to be turned away. The women slept on iron beds and calico sheets that were sewn by the inmates. These sheets would be repaired until they could be used no more. Each day the women were fed a diet of half a loaf of bread, one pound of meat, vegetables such as potatoes, turnips or cabbage and a pint of tea.
Source: Hyde Park Asylum for infirm and destitute women 1862-1886, Historic Houses Trust
Contestations in the 1930-40s: Preservation or Demolition
In the 1930-40s there was a furious debate as to whether the Hyde Park Barracks should be preserved for posterity as a cultural icon. Many in the community believed that the site had been a stage for successive periods of historically significant events. These pioneers asserted the importance of the bourgeoning national identity and the need to protect this early building so that future generations may remember the plight of the early colony.
One historian writing in 1948 aptly sums up the significance of the Barracks, skillfully forseeing its future significance in becoming one of Australia's World Heritage listed sites. He explains;
“Nearly 140 years of Sydney history is represented in the buildings of Queen’s square, where is to be found some of the most beautiful architecture in Australia, designed by a convict as part of the city’s first master plan.”
Source: Contributed Comments, E. J. F., The Home, April 1st 1937, page 23
Another campaigner for the preservation of Hyde Park Barracks, Edward Masey from Killara had his letter published in the Herald in 1946,
"In this instance, it is idle to plead that sentiment over the past must give way to the vision of the future. The northern wall of the barracks is exactly in line with the northern wall of St. James Church, and an extension of King Street does not necessitate the destruction of the barracks.
The destruction of Sydney's most distinguished architectural adornement by the Government would be an affront to the people of the whole state. What is needed is the removal of the shed surrounding it, which hide its beauty from view, and its dedication as a National Historical Museum."
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald - Jun 27, 1946, page 9
This view was not shared amongst all in society, with many claiming the building was an unfortunate reminder of the shameful legacy of convicts who came to the country and should therefore be demolished with haste. These critics argued that the Barracks were an eyesore that were not in keeping with the surrounding appearance of Queens Square. This side of the argument is well illustrated in a letter written in 1937 by a member of the community (initialed E. J. F.) that was published in a popular periodical. She writes;
“One is glad to see that everyone, except a few cranks, is agreed that the Hyde Park Barracks, designed by Greenway, must go…it lacks taste in design, belongs to the Georgian period of architecture (which was notorious for its extravagant and over-decorated style), was designed by a man who was sent out to Australia because he could not pay his debts, and is out of conformity with the surroundings of the square.”
Luckily for us, the Hyde Park Barracks was preserved and is now set to be remembered for many decades to come since its recent inclusion on the World Heritage Listing. It serves as a reminder that attitudes towards historical periods and their legacy change over time. The adage invoked by K. R. Cramp in a 1945 article calling for the creation of a National Trust resonates just as strongly today as ever;
"Hopeless is the country that forgets its greatest men and its past."
Source: The Time Has Come for a Trust to Preserve Historic Landmarks, the Sydney Morning Herald, 26 May 1945 (page 2)
Opened as a Public Museum: Historic Houses Trust
"In the museum could be placed all the worth-while relics of the past, which, unfortunately, are few enough, and will diminish as the years pass, unless they are included in a national collection."
Source: This Building Might Be A Good Museum, the Sydney Morning Herald, 2 July 1946, page 2 Source: Hyde Park Barracks, Decoration and Glass, July – August, 1948, page 30
