Cockatoo Island, in Sydney Harbour, used to be Australia’s biggest ship yard. In the early half of last century, this is where navy and civilian ships were built and visiting ships repaired.
The industrial operations were closed in the early 1990s, and the island lay abandoned for a number of years, until it has been reopened to visitors as open air museum and venue for exhibitions and festivals.
Not many of those going on in the middle of a pandemic. The main inhabitants are a colony of nesting seagulls.
The abandoned and rusty shipbuilding equipment makes great photography subjects. As writer, you can fantasise about steampunk eras and the rise of unions, the dreams of sailors and shipbuilders. The island is also said to be haunted, but it was sunny when we visited, so I can’t vouch for that.
If you want to visit, the island is a short ferry ride from Barangaroo or Greenwich Point or Woolwich jetty.
