Dotted with photogenic industrial relics, criminal architecture and art installations, picturesque Cockatoo Island (Waramaha) opened to the public in 2007 and has regular ferry services, a campground, rental accommodation, and two café bars. Information boards and audio guides ($5) describe the island’s time as a brutal convict prison, a shipyard and a naval base. A range of tours run directly from the visitor center, from heritage tours to ghostyard paranormal and criminal escape attempts (from $16). The island is an important venue for the Biennale.
An eerie tunnel runs right through the center of the island and you can even see the remains of a prison. During WWII most of the old sandstone buildings were stripped of their roofs and turned into bomb shelters. Solitary cells were discovered here after being filled and forgotten in the 1890s.