Audio tours
The Cockatoo Island audio tour takes you on a colourful journey through the island's past. Hear about the lives of convicts incarcerated in the brooding sandstone gaol on the island's plateau. Or learn about the day-to-day work of the thousands of shipwrights, engineers and trades-people who made Cockatoo the biggest shipyard in Australia in the 20th century. With 26 audio stops you'll discover a lot more than meets the eye at Cockatoo.
Pick up your tour
Audio tours are available from the Muster Station Visitor Centre on the island, just as you come off the wharf. Pick up a headset and special map from our volunteers. The island's many lives are recreated in the tour by professional actors, music sound effects and real audio clips from those who lived and worked on the island. Tours cost $5 and take approximately one and a half hours, but you can go at your own pace.
Groups
If your group (15 or more) would like to hire audio tours, we suggest that to avoid disappointment and make sure there are enough available on the day, you reserve and pay for the audio players in advance. We have a limited number of players, but for bigger groups we can usually acquire extra players, given notice. To reserve audio tours please contact Harbour Trust reception on 8969 2100 (Monday - Friday). We regret that we can reserve players only if pre-payment has been made.
Listen
You can listen to some highlights from the Cockatoo Island Audio Tour by NARROWCASTERS. The audio files are in mp3 format and can be played with: Windows Media Player or Apple Quicktime.
Introduction to Cockatoo Island - 1.05 mins [MP3 - 670 KB]
The island's giant cranes - 1.50 mins [MP3 - 1090 KB]
Girls from the reformatory - 2.05 mins [MP3 - 1294 KB]
The convict gaol - 1 min [MP3 - 608 KB]
The convict-built silos - 49 secs [MP3 - 492 KB]
Download
- Cockatoo Island Audio Tour Brochure (PDF - 1 543 KB)
- Visitor
Guide to Cockatoo Island (PDF - 2,252KB)
