Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Hyde Park Barracks

Yesterday Billy & I caught the train down to Sydney to meet up with friends and visit the Hyde Park Barracks.  The barracks were built in 1819 to house the male convicts; now it's set up as a museum about convict life.  It's set up quite well for kids - it has a kid's trail with a booklet to fill in, and plenty of hands-on things to do.  Some of those include:

You can lie in a hammock -


Dress up in convict clothes -

and Try on the leg-irons -

There was a database of the convicts that had passed through the barracks, and much to our delight, we found Billy's ancestor listed.  It makes history far more personal.


Afterwards, we headed to Hyde Park for a picnic lunch.


And then over to the Australian Museum for a couple of hours.  There's not much hands-on stuff to do, but the kids did find some :) 



It was an exhausting day but well worth the visit.

4 comments:

jugglingpaynes said...

Neat! Sounds like a fun day. I love the skeleton on the exercise bicycle!

It is wonderful when you can view history on a more personal note. Your story reminded me of when my mother visited Ellis Island and looked for some of her relatives on the board.

Peace and Laughter,
Cristina

Suji said...

That pix of him in convict clothes is precious! Could we have some leg irons over here? A particularly bouncy kiddo needs some holding-down lol. I see your break is going beautifully. Wishing you some much needed rest dearie!

woentum: woe 'n the tum - sounds better than nausea!

Libby said...

Love the barracks. We went for the first time a year or so ago. I love when kids get older and there are new things to do and discover.

karisma said...

Looks like you had a great time. We have never been to the barracks, it was closed last time we went by. My kids were not too fussed with the Museum, although Zak enjoyed it, the others were bored. They all however, LOVE the powerhouse museum.

How awesome that you found your ancestors. I will have to remember to take our names along when we finally get there.

Billy looks like he had a great time. He is growing up so quickly!

Hugs, xoxoxox