Cockatoo Island

Only a short ferry ride from Sydney’s CBD is Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour’s largest island and one of Australia’s most fascinating historical sites.

In 2010, Cockatoo Island – along with 10 other Australian convict sites – was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Cockatoo Island was a convict gaol (1839-1869), a reformatory and industrial school (1888-1908) and a dock and shipbuilding yard (1847-1992). The shipyard closed in 1992 and in 2001 the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust took ownership of the site. After extensive remediation works, Cockatoo Island was opened to the public in 2007.

Take an audio tour or self-guided journey and explore the island’s convict and shipbuilding history.

Cockatoo Island is the only Sydney Harbour island where you can stay overnight. Take a short break in one of our luxury houses or apartments or camp overnight on the harbour’s edge in what Lonely Planet described as “one of the world’s most spectacularly located campsites”. 

Cockatoo Island is now open daily and entry is free. The Visitor Centre is open from 10am-4pm daily.

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