Port Arthur: Spent the Day in a Prison

Indeed, that is where we spent our day … in a penal station. But unlike the convicts who were housed there, we were free to come and go as we pleased.

The Port Arthur Historic Site, which has its origins in the 1830s when the first convicts arrived, is a UNESCO World Heritage listed place of both national and international significance. It was a place that played an important role in the settlement of Australia. It was a place of convicts … but also of military personnel, civic leaders, free settlers and their families.

Had we not disembarked Regatta in Hobart, we would have visited Port Arthur when the ship called here the next day. So glad that’s not how it all played out as that visit would have been very rushed. No, this historic site more than deserved the nearly 10 hours we spent there today.

The penal station was initially established as a timber camp where convict labor was used to not only cut down the trees, but also to produce the logs that were then used in government projects. That changed in 1833 when Port Arthur became a punishment station. Repeat offenders from all parts of Australia were sent here “to learn their lesson.” Some did and were returned to society … rehabilitated, educated, and skilled in a trade. Some obstinately refused to do so and kept getting their sentences lengthened. The stories of these offenders are told in markers that dot the site.

Port Arthur served as a penitentiary community until 1877 when it was officially closed. Some of the buildings were dismantled, the materials repurposed elsewhere. Others were destroyed by bushfires. In fact, much of the ruins we saw today are a result of those fires. Yet others were sold off … such as the commandant’s house, which became a hotel. In 1971, a major conservation program was undertaken, and over a period of time, the government purchased all privately-held land. Thus the Historic Site was established.

As sad as its distant history is, Port Arthur has a more recent tragic story, too. In 1996, a gunman killed 35 people at the site and wounded 19 others. Today, a memorial stands at the spot where the massacre took place, ensuring that this chapter in the site’s history is not forgotten.

That’s it in a nutshell. Regular readers know that I am all about details, but there is so much of it here that it’s impossible to capture it all in words. So, I’ll just move on to our story of the day.

We started out at 9:00a when the site opened … roaming the grounds for about three hours before the crowds started to show up. At that point, we joined the Commandant’s Tour … with Andrew as our guide and only one other couple. We wandered around the site for another 1.5 hours with Andrew, who gave us insight into details we would have otherwise missed and entertained us with some funny stories, too.

Then it was onto a boat tour. The basic harbor tour is included in the admission, but we had upgraded to include landing on the Isle of the Dead … the cemetery for Port Arthur. Our guide on this tour was an interesting character — a transplant from California — who explained that the class distinctions of everyday life — the haves vs the have nots — carried over to the cemetery as well … with the haves being buried in the higher reaches of the island. He brought alive the stories of those buried in the graves dotting the landscape — convicts and free settlers alike — in a way that sometimes saddened and sometimes cheered us.

We wrapped up our day with dinner at 1830 — the restaurant at the Visitor Center … overlooking the penal station. The food was excellent … the fresh fish beautifully prepared … the chocolate ganache tart finger-licking-good. But the best part of our meal was the new friend we made … Bridget, visiting from New South Wales. She offered to take a photo of us … the conversation and laughter that followed led to an invitation to join tables … and the rest, as they say, is history. It was a perfect ending to our day.Read more