Day 68 - Justice & Police Museum and The Rocks, Sydney, NSW, Australia

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Saturday 25th January 2014. Justice & Police Museum and The Rocks, Sydney, NSW, Australia

This was our first day 'home alone' but we managed to find everything and work the dishwasher etc. We caught the bus into the city and made our way to the Justice and Police Museum, which was the fourth, and last museum included on our pass.

The Justice & Police Museum building served as a police station 1856 to 1886 and later a court building was added. The museum has been restored to its 1890s character emphasising its themes of crime and punishment and law and order. After you walk through the smooth sandstone facade of the building and pass the service desk, the most chilling part of the self-guided tour follows. Displays on some of Sydney’s and indeed Australia’s most notorious crimes hang on the walls inside cells and office space used by police for fingerprinting, as well as information on the Pyjama Girl murder of a young woman in the 1930s.

The remnants of Australia’s colonial past are clear in the museum's structure and facade. The inside of the police detachment of the building is rough with sandstone bricks and spiked gates boxing-in exhibits of criminal weapons in a sinister light made possible by incandescent light-bulbs and shards of sunlight through small windows. Perhaps the most telling insight into the psyche of judicial officials in the 1800s though, is in the contrast of the police and court buildings. The Police Court was added onto the building in 1899, to accommodate an increase of crime in the area and subsequently, judicial work.

To get to the court you must pass through tall metal gates barely wide enough for one person to walk at a time, then through an adjoining courtyard.The light that shines off the polished wooden fixtures in the court room highlights the status of the room in context of the building. Although seats are worn and ink wells long dried, it is easy to see the expense that that went into the construction of the gallery. Jury and public viewing seats crowd the benches of the defence and prosecution, then to the scribe and finally to the judge’s seat on tiered rises as the status of each player progresses. M tried out the witness box, the judges seat and the dock. In this room there were also exhibits of Judges robes and wigs.

For those who like the gruesome and the macarbre, details on notorious crimes such as the Shark Arm Murder, the Pyjama Girl Case and the Graeme Thorne Kidnapping as well as original objects gathered from an assortment of legendary bush rangers, are on display. We spent a couple of hours reading about the grusome crimes. There was a case of particularly nasty weapons - bludgeons and maces and a ring that concealed a razor blade - charming!

When we had finished the museum we walked down to The Rocks so we could suss out where we would be heading for tomorrow for the Australia Day celebrations. We found Dawes Point where we would have a good view of the goings on in the harbour. We took some photos under the harbour bridge and around Ives Steps before making our way back to the end of George Street. We took some more photos including some of the Observer Hotel which is a heritage building. The Hotel was established in 1848 and was originally called the Observer Tavern. It was demolished in 1906-7 and rebuilt by Tooth & Co. in 1908-9.

We returned home and ate in. We have a long day tomorrow.

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