Port Arthur, Tasmania

Around 150 years ago repeat offenders from home were shipped to this then solitary outpost in Tasmania. Even now it's on the distant end of the Tasmamian Peninsula. Interesting to see and hear the stories of convicts. Apparently it was only  habitual and serious criminals that were placed here. An Irish guy had requested info on his ancestor who he said had been sent here for stealing a piece of rope. When they investigated it in the records he had stolen rope but it had a prize race horse attached to it. 

There was a story of an aboriginal man who escaped for 10hours only to be recaptured, however, he had managed to  get back onto the mainland of Tasmania without crossing the thin connecting land strip that's guarded by the Dog Wall. When asked how he had done it he said that within the first hour of escape he had constructed s bark canoe and paddled across the bay so avoiding sight and the dogs. The commandant didn't believe him and challenged him to repeat the task within an hour and he would reduce his punishment. This the aboriginal did and paddled off out and around a distant island. 

Unfortunately he appears to have returned and taken the rest of his sentence. We were hoping he rowed off and escaped, I guess he didn't read the script well enough!

Port Arthur's main prison block. It was a mill initially, inmates were housed elsewhere. Crops didn't grow well enough in the sandy soil. 

One of the cells. Just enough room for me to lie down. 

If you misbehaved while in prison you were sent to this newer section for 23hours a day complete deprivation were you only had a number and could not speak. If you still misbehaved there was a further cell where it was absolute dark, no sound for between 1 and thirty days. Needless to say many went mad and the mad house is right next door!

We did a search on our family names by the way but didn't find anyone!