The Isolation Cells
Recent archaeological work has revealed important evidence from Cockatoo Island's convict past. The confinement cells and two storage rooms were built in 1840 by convicts, possibly to the design of Major George Barney.
These cells would have been used as punishment for the hardened secondary,
or re-offending, prisoners who were sent to Cockatoo Island for hard labour
from 1839.
For unknown reasons, the cells were filled in some time during the 1890s, and forgotten. More isolation cells were constructed in 1843 near the guard house, but were later demolished.
Above the cells is the cookhouse, also from the 1840s. Its roof was reinforced
during World War II to act as a bomb shelter.