Victoria Barracks, Sydney

Victoria Barracks
Victoria Barracks
Paddington, Sydney, Australia
	The main barracks block
	Victoria Barracks
Coordinates	33°53′09″S 151°13′23″E / 33.885905°S 151.223137°E
Type	Barracks
Site information
Owner	Department of Defence
Controlled by	Australian Army
Open to; the public	Yes
Site history
Built	1841–1848
In use	1848–present
Materials	Hawkesbury sandstone
Garrison information
Garrison	Headquarters Forces Command
Occupants	Australian Army Band, Sydney
Commonwealth Heritage List
Official name	Victoria Barracks Precinct, Oxford St, Paddington, NSW, Australia
Designated	2 June 2004
Reference no.	105277

Victoria Barracks is an Australian Army base in the suburb of Paddington in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located between Oxford Street 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 in 2004, the site contains one of the most important groups of Edwardian military buildings in Australia.^[1] 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.^[2]

History

The Regency style main barracks building was constructed of Hawkesbury sandstone by convicts 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, but 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 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, and 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, 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.^[3]