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Hobart And Port Arthur Tasmania Australia by Art and Gloria Netzer From its days as a destination for convicted British criminals, Tasmania has become a modern tourist haven. Article rating: 8.36

From hellhole to tourist haven, Tasmania is one of the 5 states plus the Northern Territory making up Australia which is the largest island continent in the world. Hobart, the state capitol of Tasmania is a lovely city tucked in between Mt Wellington and the Derwent River. Hobart was established in 1804 and is saturated in colonial history. The original settlement was a colonial outpost, whaling station and place of exile for convicts.

Visitors today are charmed by the historic Battery Point. This area is characterized by Victorian cottages, tearooms, antique shops, restaurants and pubs. A visit to the famous and crowded Salamanca Market should not be missed. Another attraction is the old Cascade Brewery.

Tasmania in southern Australia is actually closer to the South Pole than the Darwin in the Northern Territory is to the equator. That makes for very low temperatures during the winter. The beautiful Botanical Gardens park is home to an incredible array of colorful plants, trees and flowers and is the only Subantartic plant house where temperatures are constantly kept below zero!

Heading south across the Derwent River to the Tasman Peninsula and Port Arthur. The Peninsula in the early 1800s was originally a timber station. In 1842 it became a prison settlement for male convicts, and quickly established a reputation as being "hell on earth". Today Port Arthur lies among 60 acres of English Oaks and magnificent gardens as a memorial to Australia's convict past.

From 1833 until late 1850 the prison compound was a destination for convicted male British criminals of all ages from the British colonies all over the world. Port Arthur was known as an inescapable prison, much like the Alcatraz Island in the United States. The prison was secured naturally by high cliffs and shark-infested waters on three sides and the 25 foot wide isthmus of Eaglehawk Neck that connected it to the mainland and was crossed by numerous fences and guarded by prison guards and dogs.

The young boys were separated from the main convict population and kept on Point Puer, the British Empire's first boys prison. Although separated from the adults the boys were used in hard labor such as stone cutting and construction. One of the buildings constructed was one of Australia's first non-denominational churches, built in a gothic style. Attendance of the weekly Sunday service was compulsory for the prison population, critics of the new system noted that this and other measures seemed to have negligible impact on reformation. Even though the prison is not much more than ruins many people have reported hearing agonizing cries in several different buildings as if sensing some sort of presence after all this time.

There is a museum, containing written records, tools, clothing and other curiosities from convict times. Since 1987 the site has been managed by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority, funded by the Tasmanian Government. Port Arthur is one of Australia's great tourism destinations. Every building and every feature of Port Arthur Historic Site has a story to tell.

This would include the Penitentiary, the Church, the Guard Tower and the Paupers Mess. These are perhaps the most evocative of convict life at the settlement. The Museum of Records has actual records of the transportees sent to Tasmania including a long list of prisoner names, their crimes and punishment). Many tourists visit the ruins today to find out if any of their ancestors that may have been there.

The Island of the Dead was the destination for all the poor souls who died during their confinement. Of the 2,000 or more prisoners recorded to be buried there, only 180, those of prison staff and military personnel, are marked with names and dates. The mass graves on the Island of the Dead are of great interest to Port Arthur visitors. The air about the very small tree covered island being described as possessing "melancholic" as well as"tranquil" qualities. As the story goes one prisoner lived on the island for over 9 years and buried almost all of the dead souls during that time period.

There were no female prisoners at Port Arthur. The Cascades Female Factory in Hobart was the home for a large numbers of convicted women from the English Colonies. Prisoners ranged in age from children to old women, but most were in their twenties or thirties. Many of the crimes for which they were transported are considered minor offences by today's standards. The most common crimes included lewdness, stealing of food, clothing, money, household items. A list of 356 female convicts known to have spent some time at Hobart Female Factory is provided at a small prison office/museum at the site. This list has been extracted from the Female Family Founders Database which is current as of January 2008. It is by no means a complete list and research is ongoing.

Both Port Arthur and the Female Factory are well visited Historic Sites and people come back regularly to experience the dramatic reminders of the unfortunate fate which befell many law offenders all around the world and many of which would become some of Tasmania’s early inhabitants.  

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	Keep up the good work Posted by: Bob O'Neil May 28, 2008 @ 5:41 PM EST
	enjoyed it. Posted by: Allan Wolk May 28, 2008 @ 6:2 PM EST
	very nice photos, and interesting history. wish I could have been with you to enjoy some lunch. Have fun, and keep me/us posted on your next adventure! Posted by: Michael Duffy May 28, 2008 @ 8:21 PM EST
	Facinating!!! Thanks for sharing your experiences......Beautiful pics too!! Posted by: Barbara Sclafani May 28, 2008 @ 10:9 PM EST

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