Port Arthur ........too much to tell!

Barracks and flooded parade ground

Sunday was the coldest, wettest, rainiest, windiest, most blustery day of my trip so far. The rain was interrupted by the occasional hail and I am sure there was a wind chill factor. My winter and rain gear were working overtime. I spent 7 hours outside at the Port Arthur Historic Site (PAHS) in this meteorological morass ….and I loved every minute of it. I didn’t even get a chance to see it all. The weather was so bad the day before, the parade ground and barracks were flooded so they were closed off on the day of my visit and because the wind was so high and the sea so rough, the normal harbor tour; and visit to the Point Puer Boys Prison and Isle of the Dead, were cancelled. (and yet I still saw some rainbows!)

Tasman Bridge

The day started with an early morning 90 minute bus ride from Hobart to the PAHS. And has been my luck, I was the only person on the bus (in both directions), so Phil the bus driver told me to hop in the co-pilot seat and off we went. Phil was a wealth of local knowledge and we talked all the way to the site. As we crossed the Tasman bridge he told me the story of how in 1975 an ore carrier to the zinc refinery crashed into the bridge causing part of it to collapse killing 7 people on the ship and 5 from cars falling of the bridge. Now when ships pass under the bridge road traffic is stopped. The bridge was the major thoroughfare connect the two sides of Hobart as a result of the break people had to drive to the next nearest bridge 30 miles away. The bridge took two years to repair. As we drove on he told me of the dog line, a security measure of 13 vicious dogs chained across Eagle Hawk Neck (a small spit of land about 70 yards wide connecting the Tasman Peninsula from the mainland) that were used to keep escaping convicts at bay. Phil slowed the bus down so I could take a picture of the model dog He even asked me if I liked oysters because if I did he knew a great place we could stop to get some on the way back. Since I’m not a big fan of oysters we did not stop on the way back, but we filled the time with stories of our lives, friends and families. Another one of those joys of travelling.

Port Arthur Hospital

Port Arthur Church

The Port Arthur Historic Site is a treasure of Tasmanian history. More than a prison, it was a microcosm of Tasmanian society and daily life. The site contains many buildings, ruins, gardens, and grounds on over 100 acres. All the buildings were constructed by convict labor. They felled the trees to make lumber, cut rock for building blocks, and made bricks. They reclaimed land from the sea, built boats, farmed, and planted gardens. They made clothing and furniture. They did all the work to make the site self sufficient; and it was all done by hand. There were no beasts of burden or machines to help them. The convicts were transported there to do hard labor. Convict labor helped build a lot of buildings, roads, bridges and other structures across Tasmania. In a way they were slave labor. Business men could request, and were given, convicts to help them build for their personal gain. Although there were no women prisoners at Port Arthur, women from other prisons were used as servants, to do laundry and other tasks. It was a great set-up for the businessmen and politicians of the time.  At times the men worked on chain gangs and at the site you can put on some leg irons to see what that feels like. Some of their leg irons weighed up to 12kgs. They have an exhibit of the clothes worn by the convicts. Typically all they had was one set of clothes made of wool. It would get wet, and heavy, and smell! I try to imagine what it would be like to live in those conditions, but it is hard to comprehend. I was cold in my high tech gear and could go inside and get warm. They had no choice, they had to endure or die. There was a glimmer of hope for the men. If they toed the line and served out their time, they could leave the prison a free man, having learned a trade. They could have a life after prison; some did, most did not. In fact, there was also a Paupers Depot at PAHS. This was for men who had served their time but had no money and nowhere to go. Many lessons in social progress and prison reform were attempted at the site. There is so much more that I do not have the time or space to do it justice. You will just have to come and visit the site for yourself.

Convict Carved Fountain

There was one more story about the site which Phil felt he needed to share with me before my visit. He said he normally doesn’t talk about it with folks, but for some reason felt comfortable with me. I would have found out about it eventually at the site, although it’s not publicized in their brochure nor covered in the site tour. On April 28 1996 the Port Arthur was the site of the deadliest killing spree in Australian history. A man walked into the Broad Arrow Café and started shooting. In the end 35 people died and many more were injured. The shooter was capture and is serving life in prison. The café is now the site of a memorial and the incident did bring about major gun reform. The people of the Tasmania are still feeling the pain.

The things you learn while travelling.

norb

P.S. I will be taking a short side trip for a few days and will not have internet access so my next post will not be until Sunday at the earliest. Hope you can wait.