No, Port Arthur was one of the first Australian prisons to implement the “silent system”. Often, these infections got so bad, that they lead to the death of the inmates.īut it wasn’t the corporal punishments that were the worst part of life at the prison. The prisoners would get horrible infections in their squalid living conditions. It had a genuine reputation of being “hell on earth.” Any prisoner who attempted to escape would suffer 100 lashes. Savage floggings and brutal chain gangs were reported by the prisons when they returned back to England. Murder was punishable by death and some would prefer this to staying any longer at Port Arthur. The prisoners’ conditions were so dire that they would even murder another inmate just to escape their situation. One failed escape took place when a prisoner disguised himself using a kangaroo hide. Only two prisoners were known to have escaped. The only way to the mainland is across a 30-meter wide isthmus guarded by both soldiers, half-starved dogs and man-made traps. It was located on this peninsula that is surrounded on all sides by supposedly shark-infested waters. Port Arthur was reputed to be an inescapable prison. The prisoners also produced flour from the mill and made nails, bricks and boots all for sale to ensure the prison was profitable. ![]() After 15 years, the prison built a shipyard and began constructing shops. Port Arthur began as a timber camp the location was rich with forests and close enough to Hobart’s main port to ship out the timber. This meant that the prison was known as an “industrial prison”. ![]() Authorities wanted to see these convicts reformed through a combination of religions, education and training in a variety of trades. For this reason, Port Arthur had some of the strictest security measures and most brutal punishments.īut Port Arthur was also a working prison. The worst of the worst as being sent to the other side of the world was seen as the most severe punishment, save for execution. At the site, the most hardened criminals came to stay. Van Diemen’s Land was the name given to Tasmania when Dutch explorers claimed the land and named it to honour Anthony van Diemen, the current Dutch Governor-General. In 1830, Governor Sir George Arthur was sent to Van Diemen’s Land to build a penal settlement for convicts from Britain and Ireland. We need to remember the land’s past when visiting sites like this and recall that the convict history, while seemingly ancient, is actually very modern when compared to the thousands of years of history of the Palawa people. Although the original Tasmanian language has been lost, there is an effort to rebuild it and restore much of the history ripped from the indigenous people of Tasmania. Today, there are only a few thousand remaining Palawa, mainly mixed with European blood from the British settlers. The absolute abolishment of the aboriginal Tasmanian people has been deemed a genocide as per the UN’s definition. But this doesn’t mean the British were free from violent culpability the British invaders also incarcerated many of the Palawa people in camps where they also died. But by 1835, only 400 full-blooded Palawa people survived, mainly due to the impact of diseases introduced by the British. Before the British colonization, there were around 3,000–15,000 Palawa that lived off this land. ![]() These aboriginal people are entirely different from those in Australia since Tasmania was cut off from the mainland 10,000 years ago. The clan that lived on the south peninsula were called the Pydarerme. And although I thought I was prepared for what I would see, nothing could have prepared me for how powerful this historic site could be.īefore the colonization of Tasmania by the British, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, self-name Palawa, lived rich lives here on the shores of the south coast. Port Arthur was the first of any Australian convict site I visited. This complex gives a fantastic and haunting look back in time at Tasmania’s penal colony past. And Port Arthur is one of the best-preserved Australian Convict sites you can still visit today. Five convict sites in Tasmania have been recorded as UNESCO World Heritage sites and places of enormous historical relevance. The building of these penitentiaries brought inmates to the shores of Tasmania and new British residence and industry to the otherwise only indigenous occupied land. ![]() Tasmania’s history is steeped in the development of convict sites made to house inmates who came in from Britain. Thank you for supporting the Creative Adventurer*ĭriving up to Port Arthur, even during the light of day, is an ominous approach. *I may be compensated if you purchase through any affiliate links on this site.
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