Port Arthur

Today we drove the 80km to Port Arthur - we are not staying there, but a pass gets you 2 days visit.
When we awoke and checked on the weather forcast it was for highs of 17 or 18 so we dressed for a cooler day. But it was quite warm at Port Arthur and the sun was full on - so really it was a nice day weather wise.
The drive was threw typical aussie outback, lots of gums everywhere - the road was pretty good - great surface, and quite winding in places.
Got to Port Arthur at around 11:30 and there was quite a crowd then.
We started in the tour centre and learned about the site, British prisoners in Oz and the wider world. We all got a card that represented an actual prisoner and learned about his/her life at Port Arthur, why they were there and their life at PA.
Standing at looking at the world map and all the convict sites around the globe (every continent and island groups everywhere) - established by the British I realised that these prisons were not just about punishment - but really a way to provide labour and manpower to assist the Brits colonise their way around the world. So many of the crimes were petty - "off you go and build roads, bridges, dig mines in Australia".
And there was a prison for children there too on a smaller island - mostly teenage, but as low as 9. And of course they were all there to "better themselves" and this included religion. The church (which was burned down a century ago - but the stone and brick walls were faithfully restored) held church for 1,100 people.
The prison was only functioning for just over 40 years, and as the convict shipments slowed and eventually stopped it closed.
And so it all fell into rack and ruin. Now a lot of the area has been restored to what we see now - not completely restored but you get the idea what it was like.
The main penitentiary building was orginally a mill and probably a grain store - it was converted to the main prison. We walked through it and it is mostly a shell - we could see the small cells, one prisoner per cell - they were probably 1.5 metres by 1 metre - so it was solitued. Kitchen, ablutions etc
We had a quick bite for lunch - cost $20 for 2 sandwiches. Then we did the harbour tour - last about 45 minutes - we saw where the childrens prison was and also an island known as the "Island of the Dead" where apparently 1,100 prisoners and prison staff were buried - a tiny island - the prison staff got headstones.
Back on land we then explored areas were staff and families lived - the hospital, asylum, Post Office, and a range of normal town facilities.
By then our legs were telling us that they'd had enough and it was time to head home.
Bought some groceries for tonights dinner and that's the day.
A normal evening here - saw Gavin in the garden, the rabbits we see most nights and morning, the assortment of birds and a few wallabies.
Tomorrow we will probably head in the same direction - there is quite a lot to explore off the beaten track.
I just remembered that some of you would be old enough to remeber the massacre of 1996 when 35 people were killed by a madman. Such a sad event and we saw the memorial garden.Read more