The Worst of Australian Convicts
Between 1830 and 1877, 12,500 convicts served their time here. Port
Arthur's convicts were the worst of Australian convicts - they were the
ones that after having been sent to Australia continued committing
crimes. Port Arthur was a good place for such bad criminals because it
is connected to the rest of Tasmania only by Eaglehawk
Neck - a strip of land less than 100m wide. The
narrowest passage along the Eaglehawk Neck was lined by ferocious guard
dogs and the waters around it were full of sharks so it wasn't easy to
escape.
Eaglehawk Neck by Charlievdb via Flickr.com
The Oldest Buildings in Port Arthur Tasmania
When the convicts first arrived, they built huts and barracks for the
guards and for themselves for protection from weather while the rest of
the town was built. There are no remains of these huts today except
some old
fragments buried under the soil, which occasionally have been dug out
later. Soon after the establishment the convicts built the Commandant’s
Cottage with nice gardens and a magnificent views over the water. Next
to it they built the Guard Tower, which was ready in 1836.
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Port Arthur Church
The Port Arthur Church was ready in 1837, with enough room to hold 1000
convicts and 200 guards, and it continued to operate until 1884 (years
after the convict colony had closed) when it was destroyed by a fire.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.
Hospital ruins in Port Arthur Tasmania
In 1842 the hospital was ready, a sign of a fairly humane treatment of
convicts at the time, but possibly only a result of the guardians’ fear
for a disease to break out and kill themselves too. There are only
ruins left from the hospital today, but in its days it accommodated up
to 80
sick prisoners.
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Port Arthur Penitentiary
The main prison, called Port Arthur Penitentiary, was ready in 1844.
Located right on the waterfront, this 75m long four-storey building was
at the time the largest building in Australia. It had 136 single cells
but most of the prisoners lived in large dormitories housing 513
prisoners. Although all the timber in the building burned up in a fire
in 1897, you can still see a lot of details and imagine a life in a
135cm long cell.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.
Model Prison of Port Arthur Tasmania
A few years after finishing the Port Arthur Penitentiary, in 1848, the
Model Prison was built. It had cells to separate prisoners from each
other, reflecting the new trend of building prisons in England - based
on the thought that silence would be the cruellest
form of punishment, and that separation from others would make the
prisoners to think about their crimes. They were called by numbers
instead of names, and they had
to wear head masks while in the exercise yard. They were not allowed to
talk to each other at any time, and while in the church
they were separated in different boxes.
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Asylum in Port Arthur Tasmania
With that sort of treatment it is not to wonder that a mental hospital
was soon needed, and Asylum was built to house mentally ill patients.
It was the last major building, built as late as in 1867, only 10 years
before the penal colony was closed. You can see today that Asylum is
more modern than the other buildings in town.
Hospital by Charlie Brewer via Flickr.com
Isle of the Dead in Port Arthur Tasmania
Only months after the establishment of Port Arthur in 1831, the island
of Opossum became a burial ground of the settlement, and it was named
the Isle of the Dead. The settlers and convicts had separate cemeteries
and there was a plan to leave the convicts’ graves unmarked, but some
of the convict tombs do have headstones. A ferry trip to the island
definitely adds to your Port Arthur experience.
Isle of Dead by reynard via Flickr.com
Port Arthur Tours
It is not easy to imagine what the life was like in Port Arthur. You
can join historical guided tours
that give
you an insight into what a self-sufficient settlement it was with
convicts making shoes and clothing, growing vegetables, building ships
and processing timber. You can also join tours that take you
here from Hobart.
Guided tour. by Simon Lieschke via Flickr.com
Port Arthur Accommodation
There are a few eateries such as Felons,
Phudies and Convict Kitchen Bistro.
Would you like to stay over the
night, nowadays there are plenty of accommodation at Best Western Fox
and
Hounds Inn, Best Western Lufra
Hotel, Burilda Waters Holiday
Home, Casilda House
B&B, Classic Cottages,
Comfort Inn,
Drover's Daughter
B&B, Eaglehawk Hideaway
B&B, Parsons Bay Lodge,
Parsons Bay Retreat
Hotel, Rocking Horse
Apartments, Sea Change Safety Cove
B&B, Stewarts Bay Lodge
and Storm Bay Guesthouse.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.
Tasmanian Devils and Tasmanian Devil Park
On the way to Port Arthur there are a few interesting rock formations,
and the Tasman
National Park. Nearby is
also the Tasmanian Devil Park
where you can watch Tasmanian
Devils, kangaroos,
birds
of prey and other Australian
animals.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.
Map of Port Arthur Tasmania
Here's a Port Arthur map, where I have tagged the places that I
mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what
places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and
see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to
see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top
right hand corner.
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What Other Visitors Have Said
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Port Arthur Not rated yet To get to Port Arthur fly into Hobart and hire a car.
Then travel on the Port Arthur Highway through Sorell, Dunalley, down through Eaglehawk Neck, …
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