The convict precinct (see also Barracks Block) was built over several years; the buildings beginning to be occupied from October 1841.

In order to service Royal Navy ships, the Fitzroy Dock was built on the island and completed in 1857.

[1] Following Federation, in 1913 Cockatoo became the Commonwealth Dockyard, and the island, both through shipbuilding and servicing, played an important role both in the development of the Royal Australian Navy and during the First World War.

From 1933 the dockyard was leased from the Commonwealth by Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Ltd and the island played a very significant role during the Second World War.

[1] The military guard room, with detached kitchen and toilet, was erected in 1842, and a cell block (later demolished) was completed three years later.

After the females' departure, the room became offices and accommodation for the resident engineer, before a new wing was added and the building reverted to prison purposes.

Following the Industrial School and later prison period, and after the Commonwealth took over, the mess hall was altered for office purposes and the windows were enlarged.

[1] The military officers' quarters or guard room was erected c.1845-57 and was designed by the Commanding Royal Engineer.

It has always been used as a residence, firstly by officers, then by the superintendent of the girls school, then for a time by the governor of the later prison (which was known as Biloela).

During the Second World War it was converted to an air raid shelter, later it held archival drawings and later still part of it became a latrine.

The roof (variously corrugated iron, fibro and concrete) is pitched and the building has a verandah.

inside, the guard room features iron wall-rods which would have supported timber boards upon which rifles were laid.

The roof is clad with iron and is hipped in form, there are verandahs to ground and first floors, and there is very little ornamentation.

Alterations include partial filling-in of the northern verandah, and weatherboard and fibro extensions to the south.

The second quarters to the east was drastically altered when converted to an air raid shelter; a concrete roof and blast walls were added at this time.

[1] The precinct has aesthetic significance for the buildings' sandstone construction, early Georgian styling, and the evocative nature of the group which is a strong reminder of the convict era.

[1] The mess hall was substantially intact, and the stonework is in mainly good condition and the interior was generally satisfactory.

[1] Criterion A: Processes Dating from c.1839-57, the barracks precinct is historically highly significant for its direct association with convict administration in the Australian colonies.

It is also associated with the other phases of Cockatoo Island's history, as an industrial school and as a major government shipyard.

The buildings' sandstone construction, Georgian styling and the evocative nature of the group as a strong reminder of the convict era all contribute to the place's significance.

[1] This Wikipedia article was originally based on Prison Barracks Precinct, entry number 105256 in the Australian Heritage Database published by the Commonwealth of Australia 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on {{{accessdate}}}.