The Gadigal people called this place Warrane. In 1788, eleven ships arrived carrying over a thousand desperate souls to an unknown land.

Built in 1845 by workers who knew every stone. Despite the the opinion of some, the First Fleet didn't land here—but generations of Sydneysiders have passed through its doors.

Mary Reibey arrived in chains at age 13. Isaac Nicolas was transported for theft. Both became respected businesspeople. How did they rebuild their lives from nothing?

For a century (1820s-1920), sailors, convicts, and locals drank side by side. Get arrested? The Police Station was next door. But the police were often as crooked as the convicts themselves.

The colony's first patients suffered here in canvas tents. Later, this narrow lane saw the colony's first street gangs clash.

Francis Greenway was transported for forgery, yet designed some of Sydney's most beautiful buildings. Can a criminal successfully return to his chosen profession?

Irish orphan girls, some as young as 14, arrived alone and terrified. Mary Driver was one. She made this street her home

Convicts chiseled through 140 metres of solid rock with hand tools. Every chip tells a story of backbreaking labor.

Long's Lane, Cribb's Lane, and Caracher's Lane - Beneath your feet: 33 homes where real families lived, loved, and struggled. Archaeologists found their cups, their toys, their secrets.

Edward Riley was an ex-convict. How did he afford these terrace houses? The answer might surprise you.

Jack Mundey mural - One union leader in the 1970s said "no." Without Jack Mundey's green bans, bulldozers would have erased all these stories.

Ann Smith, a convict nurse, ran away. For years, male convicts "nursed" the sick. Imagine being cared for by them.

Behind Harrington Street is Well Courtyard - William O'Neal's child drowned in this well. A parent's worst nightmare, preserved in stone.

Reynolds Cottages can be found here - 200 years old, built by convict hands, nearly demolished. The secrets of how they survived involve lies, luck, and determination.

Rest, refresh, and reflect on the people whose struggles built this place.