Victoria Barracks [media]in Paddington, built from 1841, was the third barracks built to accommodate military personnel in colonial Sydney. Having initially housed British regiments, it became home to colonial New South Wales units and in 2016 continues to provide accommodation for Australian military personnel.
The First Fleet included a detachment of Royal Marines to supervise the convicts, protect the settlement and generally keep order. Convicts constructed barracks for [media]the marines, which were next occupied by the New South Wales Corps, who replaced the Marines after the arrival of the Second Fleet in 1790. In 1792 the government built new barracks on a 16-acre (6.47 hectare) site on the western side of George Street, between what is now Barrack and Margaret streets, and extending west to Clarence Street.
When Governor Macquarie arrived in 1810 he considered many of the buildings to be dilapidated and unsuitable and ordered additional buildings. In 1815 the whole area was enclosed by a wall ten feet (3m) high, creating a virtual fortress in the heart of the town. The main gate on George Street gave access to the parade ground beyond which were the barrack buildings, along the western side of what is now York Street, As the town expanded it became obvious that the location of the barracks was impeding the commercial growth of the town and inhibiting planning and the laying down of streets. They also occupied a large area of land in a central position which was increasingly sought after and valuable.
In 1836 Governor Bourke decided to move the military to a new site on the outskirts of the town and asked the officers to recommend a suitable site. Their favoured site was the Cleveland Paddocks, the present Prince Alfred Park, on the southern edge of the town. Plans were drawn up but no progress was made. In 1840 the Paddocks site was deemed unsuitable because it was by then developing as a residential and commercial area.
The government settled [media]on an area on the South Head Road, the present Oxford Street. It was remote from the town centre, unsuitable for agriculture because of sand dunes and sandstone outcrops, which could be used for building material, and was close to Busby's Bore, the principal source of drinking water. The location on a high ridge line provided good strategic views in all directions. The area set aside was about the same size as that in George Street but adjacent vacant land offered opportunity for expansion.
Plans for the new barracks were drawn up by the Commander of the Royal Engineers, Major George Barney. There would be a main barracks building accommodating about 700 men, flanked on the east by quarters for 39 officers and on the west by a hospital for 50 patients, with ancillary buildings such as stables, kitchens and outhouses.
Construction began in 1841. Convict labourers cleared the site and quarried the sandstone while contracted masons did the actual building. The work was supervised by Barney and, from 1843, his successor, Lieutenant Colonel James Gordon.
By 1844, the east building (officers' quarters) had been completed and the foundations for the main barrack block were ready. The officers' quarters are considered to be 'the finest and most important officers' quarters and mess to be built in Australia during the nineteenth century … comparable to the best British military architecture of its epoch anywhere in the world.'  By 1848 the whole complex was ready for occupation and the George Street Barracks were decommissioned. Most of the land was sold for residential development, with a section facing York Street reserved as a public square named after Major General E B Wynyard, then the commander of British forces in the colony.
The whole Barracks precinct is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
[media]The barracks housed various British Army regiments until 1870 when the colony became responsible for its own defence. The Barracks have been used continually since then by Australian forces. The first was the New South Wales Artillery, followed after Federation by various units of the Australian Army. Between 1931 and 1936 the Barracks housed the Royal Military College during the closure of its buildings in Canberra forced by the economic downturn of the Great Depression.
In 2016, the Army Museum of New South Wales occupies the former Military Prison building. Guided tours are held on a regular basis.
Kreckler, John F. The Story of Victoria Barracks: from Sydney Cove to Paddington Hill. Paddington: Army Museum Society, 1993.
Barracks and parade ground constructed for the the military in the early days of the colony. They were used until the new Victoria Barracks were completed in 1848.
Soldier who replaced George Barney as Lieutenant-Colonel, commander of the Royal Engineers in 1843. In 1848, Gordon drew up a comprehensive plan for fortifications in Sydney which involved 30 heavy guns located at Inner South Head and Middle Head, nine heavy guns at Sow and Pigs Reef, two heavy guns at Pinchgut, work at Bradley's Head and changes to the Dawes Point Battery. The plan was only instigated in part.
List of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission.
Museum housed in the original 25-cell District Military Prison of Victoria Barracks, which was constructed in 1847. The organisation collects preserves and interprets the history of British, NSW and Australian Armies in NSW from the First Fleet to the present day.