Defence Housing Australia (DHA) propose to construct a new accommodation building at Victoria Barracks Sydney. Following the preparation of an Archaeological Research Design by Jacobs, MTS Heritage was engaged by DHA to direct and supervise the Jacobs archaeology team to determine the absence or presence of historical archaeological relics.

Victoria Barracks in Sydney is one of Australia’s finest colonial barrack complex still in military use. The barracks was built between 1841 and 1848 for the British garrison, replacing the earlier barracks in George Street, Sydney. The site formed part of the Sydney Common and was located on the south side of the South Head Road, close to Lachlan Swamps. The sandstone for the buildings was quarried in the immediate vicinity of the barracks by convicts accommodated in a stockade on the barracks site. Convict labour was used to prepare the ground for new buildings and form rough foundations. Contract masons, pavers and carpenters carried out all of the above ground work. The first architect of the barracks was Colonel George Barney, followed in 1843 by Colonel James Gordon under whose direction most of the buildings were constructed. The complex was originally designed to accommodate 40 Officers and 649 men and, as shown in the early plans, included Officers’ and Soldiers’ Quarters with outbuildings, a hospital, military prison, stores, sheds, a guard house and a magazine surrounded by a defensive perimeter wall. Most of the original sandstone buildings and boundary wall still survive and, due to their integrity, can demonstrate nineteenth century colonial military life.

Initial test excavation for the new accommodation building revealed the foundations of the Officers’ privy and the sandstone foundations of a c1840s building labelled as a ‘stables’ in early plans. Subsequent open area excavation recommended by MTS Heritage revealed the full extent of the privy and a former coal store and cellar later used as a stables. Given the extent, condition and significance of the remains, they will now be conserved within the new design with heritage interpretation options incorporated.

In addition to providing information about the construction and use of these early outbuildings, the archaeological investigation demonstrated their modification and ongoing use, including the introduction of free-standing toilets to the privy and a brick floor at ground level above the cellar. The investigation highlights the inaccuracy of the building labels in the 1844 plan. It also supports previous assertions that many of the building were designed mid-construction. As demonstrated by this investigation, the archaeological investigation of former buildings at Victoria Barracks can provide significant new information and knowledge about the layout of the barracks and the function of its early buildings not available in the historical record.