From Convict to Cool

This photo is looking over the Rocks neighborhood from the old convict village ruins.

The Rocks is an area west of downtown Sydney where the convicts where originally sent to make their tent village by Captain Philip when the first fleet arrived. The Rocks neighborhood and its evolution and development from the time the first fleet landed up to present day reflects the attitude the people of Sydney hold towards the convicts themselves and the history of their convict heritage. When the first fleet arrived there was no need to house the convicts in a prison, there was nowhere for them to run away to, so they let them set up their own part of the city.  The convicts essentially became the planners of this part of the city, and they designed a lot of it specifically to evade authorities and hide out. You can still see a lot of that fact still reflected in the layout today, there are a lot of sharp corners, steep hills, and narrow alleys that wind in-between the old buildings. These passageways are quite narrow, sometimes not much wider than your shoulders, and the ground is uneven, paved with cobblestone. As you walk through them the bright Australian sunshine disappears, and you feel as if you are for a brief moment transported back in time to the early 19^th century.

When Gov. Macquarie took office he pooled the convicts and housed them in the Hyde Park Barracks. Using a centralized convict work force Gov. Macquarie made many buildings and much of Sydney's infrastructure. However there was also another benefit to the convicts, they were learning valuable trade skills. Many convicts were allowed to reenter the community early and they used these trade skills to open up shops and get hired. At the end of the day many of them made their homes in the Rocks because it offered affordable housing. Many convicts were offered more opportunities in Australia than they would in England and the Rocks neighborhood at the height of transportation reflected this, it was a space they could call their own and start a business.

Transportation of convicts to New South Wales ended in 1840 and to all of Australia in 1853. After the end of transportation Australia was kind of ashamed of this convict heritage and tried to forget about it. At the same time in the late 1800s most of upper-class had left the Rocks, almost symbolic of the country trying to move on, as it was slowly turning into a slum. In 1900 the bubonic plague hit the Rocks and surrounding neighborhoods. This unfortunate event is just another example of how the convict history and heritage was an inescapable black mark on the founding of Australia.

In 1971 a conservation organization worked hard to save the rocks and its history from complete redevelopment. This marked a turning point in Australian culture and acceptance of their convict past. In fact this was more than acceptance it was embracement of their history. Many historical buildings were restored and museum created along with ruins open to the public (the picture above was taken from these ruins). Being from convict heritage became cool.  Our tour guide for the old convict barracks was quick to mention that his relatives first came over as convicts.  The Rocks is now one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Sydney with open air markets and some of the hottest clubs in the city.

On the Rocks neighborhood website it says "Made by Many Hands" and this is a perfect tag line for it because of how its evolved throughout the years effected by the many different people that lived there and their changing attitudes and experiences