Timeline
Pre 1788: Cockatoo Island is heavily timbered with red gums and frequented by sulphur-crested cockatoos. Aboriginal people of Sydney almost certainly fished here.
1839-1850: A prison is established to house convicts withdrawn from Norfolk Island.
1850-1870: The Fitzroy Dock and a workshop are built by prisoners to service Royal Navy and other ships.
1870-1880: Prisoners relocate to Darlinghurst Gaol and the island is used for an Industrial School for Girls and a reformatory. The ship, Vernon, is anchored nearby to train wayward and orphaned boys.
1880-1900: Shipbuilding and repair activities expand steadily and Sutherland Dock is completed. The island reverts back to a gaol from 1888-1908 due to overcrowding elsewhere.
1900-1930: Cockatoo Island becomes the Commonwealth Naval Dockyard in 1913 and Australia builds its first steel warship on the island.
1930-1945: The island becomes the major shipbuilding and dockyard facility for the South West Pacific in WWII following the fall of Singapore.
1945-1965: Additional buildings are constructed for shipbuilding and repair. The refit of T-Class submarines occurs and the Navy destroyers, Voyager and Vampire, are built.
1965-1992: The island's work includes service and refit of O Class submarines and construction of HMAS Success. The dockyard closes in 1992, machinery is sold off, and about 40 buildings and several wharves are demolished.
2001-present: The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust assumes control of the island and embarks on major restoration works.
