Sunday or Day 3 of the Cockatoo Island Festival 2005 finally brought some sunshine. By all accounts, the rain had not dampened the atmosphere of the previous two days or the spirits of the dedicated campers. However, the warm sunny day provided a perfect finish to this inaugural event.

The uniqueness of this festival was evident from the initial ferry ride. The perfect day provided an opportunity to explore the stunning harbour as the ferry neared the historic island. There was a well-established, cheery festival vibe from the minute I stepped on the island. Despite it being the third long day for many punters there was still a great enthusiasm amongst the crowd.

The festival spread across the island and inhabited many of the historic buildings. There were so many different venues and parts of the festival to explore that it was quite overwhelming. Cockatoo Island was the perfect spot for a festival of this kind. There is a huge variety of buildings and spaces to accommodate different genres and the other events the festival had to offer including workshops and resident artists.

Local artists had been engaged to decorate many of the venues and the décor ranged from the industrial feel of the Tunnel Bar to the lush classy setting of the Cabaret. All bands and artists were well matched to the different venues and each area catered to different musical tastes and genres.

Facilities on the island were excellent. One noticeable difference to other festivals was the amount of women’s toilets – bolstered by the fact that the island once housed a reform school for girls. You could even experience reform school girl days in one toilet where the tiny doors ensured you couldn’t get away with anything – including privacy! 

A range of market stalls sold clothes and accessories. You could undergo a range of treatments including iridology or experience a number of massage therapies – naked if you dared. There was a wide variety of food options, some provided by established Sydney restaurants including The Vanguard and Iku.

There were many bars spread across the different venues with fast flowing beer. It was hard to even tell that this was an all-ages event with the crowd blending effortlessly. It seemed to be a particularly friendly and accommodating crowd and atmosphere.

The festival’s harmony was a product of the many venues and events. The spaciousness and organisation of the festival meant that there were no crowds swarming to venues at once and there was plenty of room at all times whether you wanted to dance or relax. It’s a wonder whether the festival will be able to keep this quality in later years as it becomes more popular and established.  

Some of the venues and artists I was able to check out included:

The Turbine Hall: This main room resembles a large aeroplane hangar and is architecturally stunning. The long hall, which provided excellent acoustics, led down to a well-lit stage. Eskimo Joe and Pete Murray pulled large crowds here with Murray utilising a strong band to build up his usual acoustic sound to fill the large space. Cubanismo, a large ensemble featuring heavy brass and percussion elements, provided the enthusiastic crowd with a rich blend of exciting Cuban jazz.

The Village Green: This grassy slope provided to the opportunity to lie back and relax to the range of laid back, atmospheric and acoustic tunes. The Circle of Rhythm closed the stage with their fast-paced drumming.

Jailyard: This courtyard area was filled with good beer and great food. The music style was generally jazzy. One stand out band was Aronas. The Louisville Sluggers were the last to grace the stage here with a lively set of their well renowned approach to swing.

The Factory Floor: This was one of the only disappointing venues. Its low ceilings added to the suffocating hot and dirty atmosphere. The music was extremely loud with very bad acoustics which was a shame for some of the great bands playing there including The Devoted Few, 78 Saab and Little Birdy. Unfortunately, the Electroplate Pavilion suffered from the same problem.

The Market Stage: Situated right at the entrance to the festival and near the market stalls, this stage offered an opportunity to relax. Chairs were quickly moved out of the way when Good Buddha hit the stage with their lively hip hop act which featured a few of their best known tracks remixed into a faster drum and bass beat.

Coda were a popular act on this stage. They delivered a unique blend of sounds from drum and bass to rock with their use of violins and diverse percussion, including the use of a xylophone, triangle and bongo drums.

The string quartet Fourplay’s new cover from Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief would have even been more perfect if you could have sat back and looked directly over to the Harbour Bridge and the lights of the city. This fantastic view was obscured by the market stalls and it’s a wonder that the festival wasn’t set up to take advantage of this position in the harbour.  

Despite the diverse array of music of activities at this festival, the island itself continued to steal the show. As the sun set, the main structures on the island were colourfully lit or reflected light installations. Lanterns dotted throughout the camping grounds and the cliffs were lit up to help people find their way. As it got dark, the fact that this was a historical place became even more apparent as people moved from event to event and through the old buildings in the dark.

One of the last events was the Funktrust operated Convict Workshop which featured Regal. His brilliant funk set had even the most tired punters dancing for the last part of the night. 

It was with reluctance that the crowds piled on the last ferry at midnight and the benefits of camping here and taking advantage of the islands offerings well into the morning were obvious.

There was a general consensus among many artists and festival goers that the inaugural Cockatoo Island Festival 2005 was a truly historic event and the start of something exciting for the music, arts and general communities. It certainly felt like a privilege to enjoy this relic of Sydney’s past and it is fantastic that this long neglected gem on the harbour can now be enjoyed.