However, the inconsistent timekeeping of the town’s two public clocks was a constant source of ridicule and frustration. The Hyde Park Barracks clock played a crucial role in the daily life of colonial Sydney and the supervision and control of convicts, managing their workday and symbolising the rigid new regime imposed by the compound. It was only the second public clock in colonial Sydney the first had been installed in a tower on Church Hill in 1798. The clock was originally assembled in 1819 by James Oatley, a convict clockmaker. It’s set in a finely carved stone cartouche, or ornate panel, surmounted by a crown and inscribed along its base: ‘L. ![]() ![]() The new compound was strategically sited in Queens Square at the top of Macquarie Street, where it holds a commanding position opposite Greenway’s St James’ Church (completed in 1824).Īt the centre of the Hyde Park Barracks’ tympanum (the triangular pediment on the front of the main building) is Australia’s oldest surviving public clock. On its 200th anniversary, Australia’s oldest surviving public clock received some much-needed conservation and care.īuilt on the instructions of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, the Hyde Park Barracks was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway and constructed with convict labour between 18.
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