Port Arthur - Tasmania, Australia

Port Arthur is a former convict settlement and small town located on a peninsula less than 100km from the capital Hobart of Tasmania, Australia. The Tasman peninsula was chosen as the site where convicted serious offenders could be confined in a naturally secure prison surrounded by shark infested water. As well as its disreputable past the site was tragically also associated with the 1996 mass murder where a lone gunman open fired killing 35 people.

Nowadays, it is one of the most popular attractions of this lovely island. Port Arthur was established in 1830 by the first settlers and begun as a timber station in 1830, its name honoring the lieutenant governor George Arthur. Its remote location led to it becoming a prison at the forefront of criminal reforms and the biggest penal colony in Australia.  Between the years 1833 to the last convict that was shipped out in 1877 over 12000 convicts served sentences at Port Arthur, some of them the hardest of convicted British and Irish criminals. The colony was known for it’s strict security measures, thanks to its natural conditions, the island was surrounded by water and instilled in the minds of the prisoners that it was infested by man-eating sharks. The connection to the mainland was guarded by soldiers and unfed dogs making it difficult to escape, although many tried. The layout of the prison was quite symmetrical, with exercise yards at each end as well as a chapel. Prisoners were located in 80 cells and often subjected to various tortures, such as sensory deprivation, silence and isolation for up to 12 months, this led to many developing mental illness from these tortures. Prisoners were also put to work in quarries and sawmills and the first convict built church in neo-Gothic style popular at that time. The prison was closed in 1877 due to humanitarian reasons. Unfortunately, at the end of the 19^th century a part of it was destroyed by fire, only the wooden Commandant’s House survived, the rest of the buildings were restored for tourism. Circulating stories of ghostly apparitions and unexplained happenings have been recorded since the 1870’s and has bought popularity to the area and can be experienced in the nightly ghost tours that operate.

The museum and restoration of the area make for an interesting visit to such a well preserved piece of history.

Gallery - Port Arthur