TASMANIA – PORT ARTHUR

NOVEMBER 5, 2025

Everyone said we MUST go to the PORT ARTHUR HISTORICAL SITE.

Port Arthur makes Alcatraz look like Club Med. Between 1830-1877 an estimated 12,000-14,000 convicts were sent here.

In England the age of responsibility was 7 years old. The youngest convict sent here was 9 years old. The boys were separated onto their own island penitentiary called Puer Point. “Puer” means “boy” or “child” in Latin. It was their job to quarry the stones.

They were, however, given a basic education so that they might become productive citizens once they did their time and were considered free. An education was also given to the grown men, many of whom were illiterate. The idea being they would become upstanding citizens in building the new colony. The scheme must have worked, because once the men were given their freedom papers they disappeared into the main stream and no one really knows what became of them.

It was said that you could be sent to Port Arthur for stealing a loaf of bread. In reality, first offenders were not sent away. Only repeat offenders were sent away. You had to have appeared before the Magistrate many times, even for stealing a loaf of bread, before he said, “Enough of you! Off you go to learn your lesson.”

The SEPARATE PRISON was designed for inmates to contemplate their wrong doings and repent from their sorrowful ways. In reality, it was one of the cruelest forms of punishment. Upon entering the facility for their minimum 2 month stay, they were stripped of their clothing, bathed, shaved bald, given a uniform with a number and a hood that left only their eyes exposed.

Being shaved bald stripped them of any individuality. The uniform and number were now their identity. They lost their name. The hood was to be worn whenever they left their cell, which was only for one hour a day in their tiny private exercise yard so as not to interact with anyone else.

Silence was to be adhered to at ALL times! The guards communicated via sign language. If a convict wanted to communicate with a guard he had to pull a string on the inside of his cell, which flipped his cell number.

Once the guard came, the convict had to write things down on a small slate, or draw a picture if he was illiterate. The cells were very small. They had a hammock to sleep, a small table for working, 2 wall shelves for their cleaning supplies, a water bucket and a toilet bucket. They were expected to keep their cells immaculate at all times.

The work table was for the jobs they were given. Some made shoes, some made brooms. There were no arts and crafts. Whatever they made was a useful item to be used by the general population of inmates and guards.

The only time they could come together and “communicate” was for church service. But even there they were separated into tiny cubicles with only a window facing the pastor. They were to sing hymns.

It is no coincidence that the LUNATIC ASYLUM was right next door. Even the hardest convicts were broken by the time they left the Separate Prison. However, many did return to the general population a changed man. That does not mean they were free men.

They still had to contend with hard labour – felling trees, making lumber to build the growing community of prisoners, guards and guards families. All the bricks had to be made. As mentioned, shoes, brooms, harnesses, and everything else that was needed and not shipped from England had to be made.

Considering the hard labour these men and boys had to do, there were many accidents and injuries, not to mention general health concerns. There was a HOSPITAL on site. It once had a lovely veranda overlooking the harbour and for taking in fresh air.

One doctor recorded having treated 13,000 cases in one year.

The general PENITENTIARY was no picnic either. Although they could now talk and enjoy the company of others, their living accommodations were anything but nice. The cells were tiny.

Made of brick and stone, with 4 tiers of windows, it was an imposing site. The bottom two floors had 136 cells for “prisoners of bad character under heavy sentence”. The third floor was the dining hall, which acted as a school at night. The library held 13,000 volumes of “useful and entertaining” books. It was also the chapel. The fourth floor was 348 “better behaved” men.

There was a laundry at the Penitentiary where 1300 shirts had to be washed, by hand, by 5 inmates. Needless to say, their hands were raw from the work.

Although there were attempts at ESCAPE, they had nowhere to go. They were on an island, which the guards rumoured were filled with sharks. If they escaped into the bush, they had to live off the land. Being from England, if they encountered a kangaroo, snake or giant spider, they were generally scared enough to return to the safety of the prison.

We took a tour with a guide who told us stories of attempted escapes. One fellow managed to elude the authorities for 20 months. He had been trusted to take care of the guard dogs at Eaglehawk Neck. The dogs were chained a nose width apart, so any attempt to pass through them was futile. They were trained to bark, not attack. When this fellow approached, the dogs knew him so they did not bark. He took two bigger dogs with him and proceeded to live off the land, using the dogs as hunting dogs. He was living a fine life eating bushmeat and selling furs, until some guards happened upon his camp, a mere 10 km from the prison.

Another guy skinned a kangaroo to disguise himself and tried to hop his way past the guards. However, one of the guards decided to use the “kangaroo” for target practice. He missed, but it was enough that the convict threw off the skin and give up.

Another fellow, Alexander Pearce, managed to escape with seven other fellows; but when food got in short supply they drew lots to see who would be sacrificed as food for the others. In the end, after 113 days, only Pearce survived. He was caught and although he confessed to the cannibalism, no one seemed to believe him. When he escaped again, with another convict and was captured a mere 10 days later with bits of the other fellow in his pocket, it removed all doubt of his earlier admission. He was hung and fittingly, dissected.

We walked through the areas where the Commandant lived and where the other officers lived. They had nice homes.

Our ticket included a 20 minute harbour cruise where we were shown PUER POINT and the ISLE OF THE DEAD, the cemetery. The accompanying historical commentary was very interesting. We did not get off the boat at either place.

SOLDIER’S MEMORIAL AVENUE is a perpetual remembrance to commemorate the men who lost their lives in WWI. Many of these avenues were planted throughout Tasmania, but time and elements have taken their toll on most of them. This one remains and is kept due to its location within the site.

We found that Australia, as a whole, pays a lot more respect to its veterans than we do in Canada. That said, on November 11 (Remembrance Day) we did not see much happening. Apparently, ANZAC DAY is much more celebrated.

GOVERNMENT COTTAGE GARDENS was an area set aside for ladies of the settlement to take exercise, as was common in the Victorian era. Horticulture and gardening were also fashionable at the time. They were beautiful and it was hard to imagine that such beauty could be beside a prison. On the other hand, perhaps the sight of such gardens reminded the prisoners of home and encouraged them to “do their time” in hopes of returning to a normal life. It is nice to think.

The construction of the CONVICT CHURCH began in 1836. The stonework was prepared by the young boys from Point Puer. The church was never officially consecrated because it was used by different denominations and the various church authorities could not get along. Typical “Love thy neighbour” stuff.

The church could accommodate 1000 worshippers. The convicts entered the building through separate doors from the free settlers and sat on benches, while the free settlers sat on lovely pews, again made by the Point Puer boys, in an area screened off from the convicts.

The 15.24 m (50 ft) wooden spire was made of pine and painted to resemble stone with crushed sandstone sprinkled on it, stood above the belfry. A storm blew it down in 1876. The belfry contained a set of 8 bells that had been cast on site at Port Arthur in 1847. Since bell casting is a complex process, it is likely the founder worked in that field prior to being sent to Port Arthur. The bells were struck with clappers to play a tune, which marked time to work, quitting time, time to pray.

A controlled burn got out of control and destroyed the remaining church in 1884. Yet even the skeleton remains grand.

We took a moment to pay our respects at the MEMORIAL GARDEN. It commemorates the victims of Australia’s worst mass murder, which occurred on April 28, 1996. A twenty-eight-year-old man entered the Broad Arrow cafeteria in Port Arthur and after eating lunch, he took out a military-style semi-automatic rifle. Within 15 seconds, he had slaughtered 12 people and injured several more. He then drove to Seascape Cottage where carried on his rampage. The final toll was 35 dead and 20 wounded – the largest mass murder in Australia`s history. It led to an urgent review of the nation`s gun laws, making them the strictest in the world.

When the prison was closed in 1877. The site was sold to private ownership and some buildings were demolished or scavenged. However, public interest in the former prison remained high. Eventually the government realized if they restored some things, they could open as a historical site. And Voila! They bring in over 330,000 visitors a year. At $60 per person, that racks up to a fair income for something they were going to destroy.

There is so much to see and learn about, it is no wonder that your entry ticket is good for two days.