Port Arthur

One of my main reasons to visit Tasmania was to learn about the history of it being a penal colony. So I booked a van shuttle to the Port Arthur Historic Site which was a 1 1/2 hour drive from Hobart. Tour companies use the tourist office just down the street from me as the main pick-up point so it was convenient. Tasmania is seeing strong growth in tourism which supports 17% of total employment. One day there were nearly 5,000 cruise passengers in town from two cruise ships. The place was hopping. I think because of the demand the tour companies are charging a lot for their tours. This company charged $60 for the shuttle ride to and from the historic site. There was no commentary as the driver’s microphone wasn’t working. Petrol averages $1.50 AUD a litre but I still saw this fare as excessive.

The route to the site was on a narrow, two-lane winding road but our young driver, Maddie, seemed to have good driving skills. As we left the Hobart area the landscape changed to rolling hills, forests, and so many lakes....huge lakes. I saw cattle, horses, goats, llamas and two echidnas, but no kangaroos. We drove through the Tasman National Park which is popular for recreational activities like camping, hiking, boating and fishing. There is a well-known hike in this area called the Three Capes Track, a one-way 46 km track with overnight huts. The coastal area is rocky and rugged and looks beautiful in the photos. Two couples my age had just completed the track and were in our van returning to Hobart. They were loud and boisterous as they relived the experience. It was something I would have enjoyed doing.

We arrived at Port Arthur at noon. The admission fee was $40 AUD and there was no discount for seniors unless you could prove AU or NZ residency. This included a 40 minute guided walking tour and a 30 minute harbour cruise to the Isle of the Dead cemetery and the boys prison. Our tour guide was a man from California and he was very entertaining, not the usual dry, fact-laden talk. The site was chosen because it was at the south point of the Tasman Peninsula making it difficult to escape from. It was established in 1830 and initially used male convicts to produce logs for government projects. In 1833 it became a punishment station for repeat offenders from all the colonies, including Canada. The youngest prisoner was 9 years old and one of the boys that Oliver Twist was based on was a resident at the Boys Prison. By 1840 more than 2000 convicts, soldiers and civil staff lived here. It all ended in 1853 and Port Arthur became an institution for aging and physically and mentally ill convicts. Some of the administrators believed in hard labour and punishment but later they introduced solitary confinement which broke a lot of the men. The settlement closed in 1877 and tourism began, becoming a World Heritage site in 2010. In 1996 a gunman took the lives of 35 people, wounding 19 others in and around the site, adding to the tragic history of Port Arthur. There are 11 sites across Australia that show the world’s first conscious attempt to build a new society on the labour of convicted prisoners. What a concept! Most Tasmanians today are descendants of these convicts.

We had to return to the city at 4 o’clock so that really only allowed about 2 hours to independently tour the buildings. I made it to most of them but not all. It was a pricey but fascinating day.Read more