[7] The historic site was closed in January 2019 for $18 million restoration work to transform it into "a rich new, immersive visitor experience like no other in Australia"[8] and reopened in February 2020.

[9] Today the museum tells the stories of the thousands of men, women and children held or housed there, and the Aboriginal communities profoundly impacted by colonial expansion.

Convicts had been allowed to find their own lodgings, however, Macquarie thought that barracks accommodation would improve the moral character of the men and increase their productivity.

Convicts found gambling, drunk, engaged in street violence, or other unseemly behaviour had this freedom revoked and were sent to live in the Barracks.

Occupying the first two floors, the Depot had the purpose of giving temporary shelter to newly arrived single females while they were found positions.

Single women were encouraged to immigrate to address labour shortages, particularly for maids and servants, and the gender imbalance evident in the Colony.

Women from Ireland, devastated by the Great Famine, were particularly targeted for immigration, coaxed to leave their homeland by the promise of better employment prospects and life.

Courts were shuffled between buildings on the site and moved elsewhere in the city as more appropriate facilities were found or as pressures on space requirements grew or shrank.

The new social policies of the 1880s saw the creation of a raft of legally specialised courts, which, in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1887) and 100 years of settlement in Sydney (1888), were consolidated in the Hyde Park Barracks.

Two landmark decisions were handed down by the Courts while in the buildings: in 1927 the basic living wage was approved; in 1921 a case for equal pay for women was presented and rejected, to be granted only in 1973.

The Friends of the Historic Houses Trust have been responsible for fundraising through interpretive tours and events to acquire the Neville Locker collection of convict artefacts for Hyde Park Barracks.

[18][7] Governor Macquarie signed an agreement with Garnham Blaxcell, Alexander Riley and D'Arcy Wentworth to build a new convict hospital in November 1810.

Similar to the Barracks next door, with no security of tenure there was little incentive to maintain the buildings and, instead fibro buildings filled all available spaces to meet the requirements of the Family Endowment Department (1927–1940), State Headquarters of National Emergency Service (1940–1950s), Housing Commission of NSW (mid 1940s) and the Land Tax Office (mid 1940s).

[7] In July 2016 the Mint celebrated its 200th anniversary of continuous civic function with a symposium "A future for the past" as part of a programme of events.

[20][7] The Hyde Park Barracks are located in Queen's Square on the corner of Macquarie Street and Prince Albert Road, Sydney.

It has sandstone foundations, sills and string courses, while the pedimented gable is decorated by a shaped stone panel containing an early colonial clock.

Two stairwells provide access between the levels, the first in the north eastern corner and the second, also abutting the northern wall, in the hallway crossing the Barracks north/south.

[7] Restoration works were unable to remove all evidence relating to District Court, some fireplaces, doorways and transom lights are now "unusually placed".

[7] Based on a paterae block (an ornamental device) and mortice openings in the floor, uncovered during conservation works, together with documentary evidence, one room has been fitted with hammock frames.

The removal of later false ceilings and linings in some sections has revealed earlier finishes, including the original roof structure on the second level.

[7] It includes a loy (potato-digging spade) and potatoes on the shelf, which make reference to the many crop failures that caused the famine in Ireland in the 18th century.

There are 420 names etched into glass panels, representing the millions of people who died of starvation or were forced to emigrate as a result of the famine.

The stairs lead to a balcony running the length of the buildings, which provides access to the series of unconnected first floor rooms.

Originally Carol Powell, who was employed to research the archival material, was also asked to catalogue artefacts exposed by the conservation works.

It quickly became apparent that the magnitude and preservation of the archaeological deposits required more attention and Wendy Thorp was employed in September 1980.

The underfloor assemblage dates to the period 1848 to 1886, during which a female Immigration Depot and a Government Asylum for Infirm and Destitute Women occupied the second and third floors of the Barracks.

In June 2015, Mark Speakman, the then Minister for the Environment of New South Wales announced Unlocking Heritage, a two-year program aimed at giving children the opportunity to experience Sydney's living museums.

Museum director Mark Goggin thinks that children will learn more about history if they can experience it hands-on, '"Particularly for the kids to wear the convict shirts, eat the gruel, sleep over with their mates in hammocks and imagining what life was like 200 years ago."'

They provide major evidence of Governor Macquarie's vision for Sydney and the relationship with The Domain, the Mint, St James' Church and Hyde Park demonstrate patterns of early 19th century planning in NSW.

Together with the central barracks building, the place possesses a rich architectural history from the earliest days of European settlement in Australia.