The island has a fascinating convict past, being originally used as a place of punishment for the more difficult convicts. It was the convicts who named it ‘Pinchgut’ after the starvation rations they had to face.

In 1788 a convict named Thomas Hill was sentenced to a week on bread and water in irons on what was then referred to as ‘the small white rocky Island adjacent to this Cove’. By 1796 a gibbet was constructed and convicts who were sentenced to death were left to hang until their bones turned white.
 

By the 1840s the colony, fearing invasion from the Russians, had converted the island into a fort and by 1857 the fort was manned, including two ten inch guns and twelve 32 pounders. The guns have only been fired during ceremonies and on special occasions.

Fort Denison is designed in the Martello style and one of the few intact examples surviving in the world. Martello Tower* (a circular masonry fort for coastal defence). You can climb Australia’s only Martello Tower and then lunch in the island café gazing at bustling harbour traffic and a view most Sydney-siders never get to see.

There are guided tours of the fort’s tunnels and cannons. Bookings can be arranged through the Sydney Harbour National Park Information Centre (The Rocks) and access can be made via water taxis.

Check out our listing of Sydney accommodation. In addition to our listed online travel guide information, contact the local tourism visitor centre for your destination for more attractions, tours, local maps and other information.