PRISON HULK OF SYDNEY HARBOUR

PRISON HULK OF SYDNEY HARBOUR

            It is not well known but Sydney had a Prison Hulk in the 1820’s. In Britain the hulks housed the convicts until they set sail on their journey to the colony of New South Wales.

          In 1825 the “Phoenix” bought convicts to Hobart Town, and sailed to Port Jackson where it ran onto rocks, and was damaged and could not be repaired in the young colony. The derelict ship was stripped of tackle, and Governor Brisbane made the decision to use the ship as a prison for men waiting to be sent to Norfolk Island or Moreton Bay, these being the worst of the convicts. The ship became a Prison Hulk after a NSW Act of Council 17th February 1826 and in 1828 became a part of Sydney Gaol, and was anchored near what is now Lavender Bay where is was used for about ten years. It was the only hulk to be used on the Australian mainland for this purpose.