| PORT ARTHUR - TASMANIA - 7182 | ||||
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 Historic church at Port Arthur. |
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Population: 180 Elevation: 39m Latitude: -43.0823 Longitude: 147.5103 Location:& 100km south east of Hobart Highway: Arthur Hwy A9 Nearest Major Town: Hobart Nearest Airport: Hobart Touring Area: Tasman Peninsula |
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 Historic buildings at Port Arthur. |
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Historic penal settlement on the Tasman Peninsula south-east of Hobart.
Prison and church ruins. Memorials to massacre there in 1996. Port Arthur is one of the most fascinating towns in Australia. Begun as a penal settlement for convicts transported from Britain, and the reason for settlement of Tasmania, it sits at the end of the Tasman Peninsula, separated from the main part of Tasmania by a small land passage called Eaglehawk Neck. This strategic neck allowed natural containment of the peninsula and guards and dogs were placed across its width to prevent any convicts escaping by land. The waters were reported to be shark-infested which acted as a further deterrent to escapees considering avoiding the neck and swimming the waters. Despite this several notorious escapes occurred and many books have been written on them. A small township built around the ruins of the penal colony caters to the many visitors to Port Arthur, and the ruins are an eye-opener to the methods of containment used in the early 19th century. Tiny cells, stocks and whipping poles can all be seen, as can the records of the transportees, some of them only children, and some sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for such petty crimes as stealing a loaf of bread. Port Arthur is one of the highlights of a tour of Tasmania and extensive information and brochures are available from Tourism Tasmania.
INFORMATION CENTRE: Port Arthur Visitor Information centre Port Arthur Historic Site. Ph: 6251 2371 HOW TO GET THERE: Coach Operators Redline: Ph: 1300 360 000 Greyhound Pioneer: 132 030 | ||||||||||
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© Copyright Peter W. Wilkins | |