Port Arthur Historic Site

Port Arthur was the destination of last resort. Convicts sent here had already committed offenses at other Australian penal settlements. The site on the Tasman Peninsula was chosen because the narrow neck of land connecting it to the mainland could be patrolled by guards and dogs. Escape by land was nearly impossible. Escape by sea, across waters known for sharks, was attempted regularly and rarely succeeded.

The Separate Prison

In 1848, Port Arthur opened its Separate Prison, modeled on the Pentonville system from England. The theory was that isolation and silence, not physical punishment, would reform criminals. Prisoners spent twenty-three hours a day in individual cells. When they left for exercise, they wore cloth hoods that covered their faces. In the chapel, each prisoner sat in a narrow wooden box that allowed him to see only the chaplain. Prisoners were addressed by number, not name. The system did not reform. It produced insanity at rates that alarmed even its administrators.

The Asylum

An asylum for the mentally ill was built on the grounds. Many of its patients were prisoners driven mad by the Separate Prison. The asylum operated until the prison closed in 1877. The records document a facility that created its own patients.

Today

Port Arthur is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It receives over 250,000 visitors annually. The ghost tours, conducted after dark by lantern light through the ruins, are the most popular in Australia.