Port Arthur historical site
Today and half of tomorrow were always
designated to The Port Arthur historic site and I have to say that this was the
thing that probably excited me the most….i know I am strange but I like
history….. I like trying to understand how they lived in the early days of
Australia.
We started the day with an approx 40min
talk with a guide at the site, he explained a lot about the site, the prisoners
and the types of punishment that was dealt out, I found it extremely interesting
as we heard perspectives of things that I have never considered before that.
After the talk we headed into what they
called the model prison. The outside of which is round (a fair bit of this
building has been rebuilt) the punishment in this building was predominately a
sensory deprivation punishment. Whenever the prisoner was outside his cell he
had to wear a hood over his head, they were not allowed to talk at anytime, the
prison had 12 area’s were the prisoners could exercise and at anytime they were
the only person in that area. This building also had the a cell that had no
window, and during it’s time the prisoners had to walk through 3 separate solid
wooden doors to ensure no light or sound could enter the cell.
C
wing of the model prison
I guess you can see how much this
interested me, I promise I won’t carry on too much
A
window in the penitentiary building
The
penitentiary building
The penitentiary building was originally
built as a flourmill and granary, however in 1843 it was converted. It was
capable of housing over 480 convicts. It also contained a library, mess room, Catholic
chapel and workshop buildings.
A
beautiful grand old tree along the avenue of Oaks
Accommodation
for officers and their wives (another wonderfully restored building)
There are several building that have been faithfully
restored so that visitors to the site are able to see what they may have looked
like in their original state.
The
Watchtower
The Isle de Mort (isle of the dead) is a small island located in the
harbor adjacent to the port Arthur historic site. Between 1833 and 1877 this
island was used as the primary burial site, it is believed that over 1000
bodies are buried on the small island. The persons buried on the island include
convicts, guards and free settlers. Fortunately the trip to the island included
a guide who kept us all enthralled with the stories of the person’s buried on
the island and how they met their demise or their role in the settlement.
Definitely worth the visit.
The
Isle de Mort (isle of the dead)
The headstones on the Isle of the dead (some of the spelling was pretty interesting)
We also had a guided tour of the Point Puer
boys prison site, which was the first juvenile reformatory facility built in
the British Empire, the idea being that the separating the boys from the adult
convicts would increase their chance of reform. Whilst incarcerated in this
facility the boys were taught any number of trades.
We had a wonderful day at Port Arthur, each
of the staff members that we came in contact with were extremely passionate
about sharing the knowledge they had, it was fabulous and I left wanting to
know so much more about the people who lived in this extremely hostile
environment.
We returned later that evening for the Port
Arthur Ghost Tour. I am not going to go into much detail here as I believe this
is a tour that you just need to experience for yourself. What I will say is
picture in your mind walking around this site with only four kerosene lanterns
to light your way as you wander into houses clothed in darkness , into a prison
were your footsteps seemed to echo forever…….
It was a great day
Until tomorrow when we head back to port
Arthur for more
The
Knights
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