The settlement of Sydney began its life as a penal colony, with a total of 568 male and 191 female convicts with 13 children, 206 marines with 26 wives and 13 children, and 20 officials having made the voyage.
Their earliest huts were composed of cabbage-tree palm, while the convicts were housed in huts made of boards wattled with slender twigs and plastered with clay. By 1790, however, there were 40 convicts employed making bricks and tiles, 50 brickie labourers, and 4 stonemasons.
The total convict population that year was 730 persons, with 413 under medical treatment. In fact free settlers did not begin arriving until 1793.
The Rocks, in the heart of Australia's most cosmopolitan city, encompasses the past, present and future. The Indigenous Cadigal people inhabited the rocky headland and surrounding shoreline for thousands of years. Then in 1788, Australia's first European settlers-British convicts and their overseers-claimed the land and built their camp atop the sandstone cliffs.
The Rocks eventually grew from an open-air gaol into a vibrant port community. Its colourful history-filled with tales of ‘shanghaied' sailors, rough gangs, and gritty life-can still be traced in the many surviving buildings from the last two centuries. But today the renovated former warehouses, sailors' homes, and dens of iniquity house a unique mixture of fine restaurants, one-of-a-kind shops, and galleries showcasing both established and emerging talent.
The Rocks is a uniquely historical Australian quarter, one where you can explore Cadman's Cottage, eat in restaurants located in some of the oldest surviving buildings in Sydney, or browse boutique shops and galleries in the place where Australia's European settlement began. It's a village which echoes a long and colourful past and can be enjoyed by everyone in an equally colourful present.The Rocks is lively, scenic, and varied enough to 
capture anyone's imagination. But it's the area's many layers of history that make it a unique Sydney destination. Fortunately, that history has been studied, preserved and documented. Visitors can tap into this wealth of information to find out about the lives of The Rocks' previous occupants, as well as learn about the history of individual buildings and sites they see today.
The Rocks Discovery Museum is a free, family friendly museum which tells the story of The Rocks area of Sydney from pre-European days to the present.
Housed in a restored 1850s sandstone warehouse, The Rocks Discovery Museum is home to a unique collection of images and archaeological artefacts found in The Rocks. The exhibits are filled with interactive fun, using touch screens, audio and visual elements to bring the history of the area alive.
Learn about the area's traditional landowners, the establishment of the English colony and the time when sailors, whalers and traders made The Rocks their home; through to the 1970s union-led protests which preserved this unique part of Sydney for future generations to explore and enjoy.
Entry is free.
10am - 5pm daily (Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day)
Kendall Lane
The Rocks (enter via Argyle Street)
T. 02 9240 8680