Fitzroy Dock
The Fitzroy Dock is an impressive surviving example of colonial engineering.
It links two themes in Cockatoo's history - the convict prison and a modern
dockyard.
It had been a long-held dream to make Sydney an attractive port for the Royal
Navy, but it wasn't until 1845 that Governor George Gipps was asked to approach
the British government on the advantages 'to the Empire at large' of a dry-dock
at Cockatoo Island.
G K Mann, the island's Civil Engineer, drew up the plans and the estimates
. He was assisted by William Denison, the Governor of Van Diemen's Land who
had been one of the British Admiralty's experts on dock design. It was designed
to take a large man-of-war, but also ships powered by the new steam technology.
Construction began in 1847. The Dock was built by convicts, and is a tribute
to their workmanship. Many toiled in diving-bells. While their labour kept
the expenses down, they had little incentive to work quickly. An enquiry in
1852 was surprised to hear that after five years of excavation, there was
still 180,000 cubic feet of stone to be removed.
When it finally opened in 1857, the Dock and its accompanying workshop and
pump-house were the most advanced in the colony. Nonetheless, ships continued
to increase in size, and within twenty-five years a decision was made to construct
the neighbouring Sutherland dock.
Dry docks were marvels of the 19th century. They are large emptying chambers which enable the hull of a supported ship to be worked on, and- particularly before anti-fouling paints were developed, to clean off the marine growth that slowed ships. The vessel is held upright by timber shores, wedged against a series of descending steps or altars. A floating iron barrier, the caisson, keeps the water out. The one in the Fitzroy Dock today is a 20th century replacement of the original provided by John Rennie of Blackfriars, London.
Vessels were hauled in by man-power, and later by mobile steam cranes. The
bollards are a curiosity, they are the muzzles of up-turned cannons.
The Dock could be a dangerous place. George Goodbear, Duncan McMillan and
'a prisoner called Flanagan' all died from falling in.