port arthur

I have been in Australia for over three months know, which still blows my mind. Ive seen some amazing things since I have been here, but I wanted to write about one of my favorites in this blog post. It was when we went to Tasmania and I got to explore Port Arthur.

We learned a lot about Port Arthur at Uni but I never imagined I would be able to go experience this place for myself.

The Port Arthur Historic Site is the best preserved convict site in Australia. Located on the Tasman Peninsula in Port Arthur, Tasmania, this convict site is one of Australia’s most specific heritage areas and museums.

It is officially Tasmania’s top tourist attraction. Because of its’ convict past and the tragic massacre that occurred in the 1990s, it is perfect to visit and learn a little more about the island of Tasmania and its history.

Port Arthur is located on a peninsula, surrounded by the water with a cross shape layout. The yellow bricks of the buildings compared to the color of the water and the sunset was breathtaking to look at. Next to the buildings, there was also a large garden and a church on the hill for the convicts to attend.

Although the site looks quite pretty and peaceful now, it was not a desirable place to be in the 18^th and 19^th century.

Port Arthur was originally named after George Arthur, the Lieutenant Governor in Tasmania (or Van Diemen’s Land, as it was called). From 1833 until 1853, the settlement was the destination for the worst of the European criminals. It functioned as a secondary form of punishment, for those convicts who re-offended after their arrival in Australia. It is surrounded by water so that convicts could not try and run away.

The security of the prison was said to be the strictest in all of Australia. Prisoners who were sent here were commonly sent to solidary confinement for weeks at a time. If they were not in solidary confinement, prisoners were sent to hard labour, such as gathering timber and iron, or working in the nearby shipyard.

Port Arthur held a key position within the penal colony’s judicial system until the decline of the convict transportation. The prison finally closed down in 1877.

Over the years, the buildings have deteriorated and are now withering away so that all that is left of them are ruins. When you visit, you can choose to do a walking tour of the site and learn the history as you go, or you can choose to just wander the site freely on your own.

On Sunday, April 28, 1966, the Port Arthur historic site was the location of a killing spree. The perpetrator murdered thirty-five people and wounded twenty-five more before being captured by the police. The massacre led to a national restriction on all high capacity semi-automatic shot guns and rifles.

Since the massacre, tourism has surprisingly increased and remains Tasmania’s top tourist attraction. Feeling the energy while walking through the ruins is truly an indescribable experience.