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| The gardens at Port Arthur were made for the 'civilized folk' who inhabited the prison colony |
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| The Tasman Arch, a huge natural rock formation carved by the ocean far beneath |
| Erin's Tasmania Journals 12-18-02 This morning we woke up and shared a congenial breakfast with Marcel & Eveline, then packed up and checked out on our way to Port Arthur. Just a little history about Port Arthur: it is a former prison colony, connected to the Tasmanian mainland by a slim strip of land. Once protected from escapees by a line of chained up, hungry dogs, this strip of land is now almost deserted, with a few monuments to the police professionals who guarded the free populace of nearby Hobart and their loyal, starved, angry dogs. The town of Port Arthur is actually quite beautiful, located on an inlet to the see, with lush greenery, a gorgeous garden (made & maintained for the civilized free folk of the colony), and several quite well-preserved homes of the officers who served here. There are also largely broken-down remains of the buildings that housed the prisoners, as well as a brand new visitor's center, which houses some truly imaginative and interesting hands-on exhibits about the prisoners and their experiences here. Less than a decade ago, a crazed maniac brought a gun into this colony and killed some 50 tourists and employees, leaving such widespread damage that the old visitor center was destroyed and this new state-of-the-art one put in. Nobody knows why he did this, but the event is well-remembered in the area. The perpetrator is in jail. Just a few interesting facts about Port Arthur. We arrived at the visitor center a little after it opened, and got a 'prisoner card' with our receipt, which would match us up with a prisoner profile downstairs in the interactive learning center. The entry fee was rather stiff, but included 2 days' entry to the colony, a guided tour, and a boat ride around the harbor to see the island where all the prisoners were buried and the island where the boys' correctional facility was formerly located. The local historians are still working on the Isle of the Dead, trying to figure out how many are buried there, etc., as prisoners were not allowed a headstone by law. The boat for this tour was very luxurious, which is probably where most of the money from the entry fees goes! We took the 40-minute walking tour around the grounds with a truly wonderful guide, who clearly loved her work and deeply felt her anger at the treatment of the former prisoners here. Her tour was quite illuminating, as to the barbaric means of punishing people, the unsanitary conditions, the corrupt officials, and the amazingly light offences that would lead to a sentence here. Of course, there were also horrid criminals here who deserved what they got, but the asylum in particular brought vehement comments from our enjoyable guide. After the tour we had a little time to look through the asylum, which was run on the principle of silence as punishment, and all I can say about it is 'SCARY.' We also saw the broken remains of the hospital and the prisoners' dormitory, among other things. Then we ran off to the dock for the quick 30-minute boat ride, and met up with Marcel & Eveline there again. Afterward, we parted ways again, saying we'd see them in Cradle Mountain in a few days. Then we explored the remains of a magnificent multi-faith cathedral that dominates most postcards of Port Arthur, and did a little further exploration of the lovely grounds and Governor's Gardens before entering the exhibit center for our prisoner's experience (remember the cards we got with our entry fees?). My criminal was a petty thief sent here from England back in the mid-1800's, who at the age of 16 refused to do the prisoners' work and was punished many times. I checked out the profiles of several other convicts - times were so different then! Amazing what progress and time can do, not that our current prison systems seem to be any more effective, in some ways! Finally it was around 1pm, and we left to have lunch in the car. We found a pretty little bay near the Tasman Arch and Devil's Kitchen (natural rock formations near the coast) to eat. Again, I was impressed with the beauty of the site of such brutal prison life! After that we drove on to Hobart, where we caught up on email and called the 2nd family of Glenn's Tasmanian relatives to meet for the first time. They'd already offered us a place to stay in earlier emails, and seemed very happy to meet us when we called from Hobart. They lived a little ways south of Hobart in Tinderbox, so after a tad bit of shopping in the 'big city', we headed southward and managed to find them without too much trouble. Liz & Steve Harvey have a gorgeous home overlooking the bay and the not-too-distant peninsula which accesses Port Arthur, as well as a glimpse at the far curve of Hobart. When we pulled up, their daughter Sarah came out to greet us, followed quickly by Liz and the dog, Oscar. With warm introductions, we were shown into the house and put our bags down, then met with Nicholas, their son. School holidays allowed these two to be available, and over dinner we planned a hiking trip nearby for the next day and invited Sarah & Nick along. Steve arrived shortly after dinner, and we felt very welcomed by all. We had a late night, but planned to enjoy the hike to nearby Mt. Anne and the Russell Falls. |