Port Arthur Historic Site - Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia
Posted by: 
ronjean
S 43° 08.752 E 147° 51.040
55G E 569172 N 5222635
Port Arthur is a penitentiary built in the mid-1800s for convicts sent from England.
Waymark Code: WMX3NB
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Date Posted: 11/22/2017
Views: 5
The buildings are being restored, but most are available to wander through. The contrast between the superintendent's home and the convicts cells are, of course, remarkable.
Tours are available, and we even saw a wedding party have photos taken in the beautiful old church.
From their webpage: "The Port Arthur Historic Site is the best preserved convict site in Australia and one of the country’s most visited heritage attractions.
Port Arthur was a key part of the colonial system of convict discipline. In its time, it was a groundbreaking attempt to deal with issues of crime and punishment that all societies continue to address today.
Port Arthur was much more than a prison. It was a complete community—home to the military personnel and free settlers who worked here, an industrial complex producing a huge range of resources and materials and a working farm.
The property includes a selection of eleven penal sites, among the thousands established by the British Empire on Australian soil in the 18th and 19th centuries. The sites are spread across Australia, from Fremantle in Western Australia to Kingston and Arthur's Vale on Norfolk Island in the east; and from areas around Sydney in New South Wales in the north, to sites located in Tasmania in the south. Around 166,000 men, women and children were sent to Australia over 80 years between 1787 and 1868, condemned by British justice to transportation to the convict colonies."
Much more info is available from their webpage:
(
visit link)
Visit Instructions:
To log a visit, please post a photo of the location you took yourself. You do not have to be in the picture. Please do NOT post pictures of your GPSr! Tell us about your visit.
If you cannot provide a photo your visit will still be welcome, but then tell us a bit more, please.