Victoria Barracks is an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

base in Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Victoria Barracks is located in the suburb of

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

, between

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

and Moore Park Road. It is just north of the Moore Park, the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium. Victoria Barracks houses the Headquarters Forces Command. Listed on the

Commonwealth Heritage List The Commonwealth Heritage List is a heritage register established in 2003, which lists places under the control of the Australian government, on land or in waters directly owned by the Crown (in Australia, the Crown in right of the Commonwealth ...

in 2004, the site contains one of the most important groups of

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

military buildings in Australia. The Army Museum of NSW is housed in the original District Military Prison, constructed in 1847. It is open to visitors on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the first Sunday each month (by appointment) from 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. The museum is closed during December and January. Tours of the Barracks precinct are conducted by the ''Corps of Guides'' on Thursdays starting at 10:00 a.m. The Australian Army Band Sydney is located at Victoria Barracks.

History

The Regency style main barracks building was constructed of

Hawkesbury sandstone Sydney sandstone is the common name for Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone, one variety of which is historically known as Yellowblock, and also as "yellow gold" a sedimentary rock named after the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this ...

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

s between 1841 and 1846. The first building completed was the Officers' Quarters which was completed in 1842. The Main Barrack Block was completed in 1846 and was designed to accommodate 650 soldiers. The bell and clock were added to the building in 1856. The barracks were originally occupied by regiments of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. The British troops vacated the barracks in 1870. The barracks was the premier military training site in Australia for many years, from its completion until after

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

in 1901. The bungalow was built in 1847 as the Barrack Master's Residence. The Garrison Hospital was built in 1845 to accommodate 36 patients. During the 1930s it was converted into an Officers' Mess. The gate on Oxford Street is referred to as the Queen Victoria Gate, while the gate on Moore Park road is known as the Convict Gate. Busby's Bore, was Sydney's second water supply, built by convicts between 1827 and 1837. An access shaft is located at the museum. For a brief period during the 1930s Victoria Barracks was home to the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...

, when the College was forced to close its buildings in Canberra and relocate to Sydney due to the economic downturn caused by the Great Depression.

Gallery

East0090.jpg, Original Officers' Quarters, Victoria Barracks Paddington Victoria Barracks 3.JPG, The guard house on Oxford Street, Paddington

References

External links

Information page
Australian War Memorial * at {{Barracks Batteries Bunkers and Forts in Sydney Residential buildings in Sydney Barracks in Australia Victorian architecture in Sydney Tourist attractions in Sydney Commonwealth Heritage List places in New South Wales 1848 establishments in Australia Military installations in New South Wales Military installations established in 1848 Paddington, New South Wales

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links