Page 15 - PGA Community News - August '23

August 2023
Tasmania’s Gulag Peninsula from page 14
days, Port Arthur’s access was by sea … it wasn’t until 40
years after the last prisoner was sent to Port Arthur that the
road down the peninsula was completed.
In 1832, just four years after Captain Welsh named the
port, prisoners started arriving. They continued to do so for
the next 21 years. In 1840, there were some 2,000 convicts
at Port Arthur. In 1877, after the last of the sentences were
served, the facility was closed. Some 12,500 convicts had
served their time at Port Arthur Prison, and were then released
to homestead, if they so chose, the wilds of Australia.
The Convict Precinct just a little farther into the cove
contains the penitentiary that was formerly a granary and
flourmill. The first two floors housed 136 convicts each in a
separate room, and the fourth floor held 348 men sleeping
dormitory style. The third floor was the mess, library and
Catholic chapel. In 1897, the building was gutted by fire;
however, one can still walk through the shell.
The “Separate” Prison was built in 1849. It was a round
building, designed to completely isolate prisoners from each
other and the guards, in solitary confinement and total silence.
August 2023
A cell in the Separate Prison
PGA C.A.N.!, Page 15
Instead of flogging, this type of incarceration was supposed
to reform a prisoner’s mind.
The Health and Welfare Precinct contains the remains of
the hospital (1842), the paupers’ mess (1864) and the asylum
(1865) … perhaps for the inmates of the Separate Prison.
The paupers’ mess and dormitories that once stood in this
area were provided for the ex-convicts who were too old or
infirmed and relied on the government for assistance.
Standing above the entire site is the guard tower (1835),
the most dominant feature of the Military and Administration
Precinct. The military compound here housed the soldiers
and provided an area to eat and play sports, and acted as a
parade ground. Many of the military had families with them
on assignment at Port Arthur. The Commandant’s office was
the first exposure the new prisoners had when they reached
the site. They were lined up in front of the building, roll was
taken, and the rules of the settlement were read to them.
Two small churches are located in the Religious Precinct.
The larger church (1836 to 1867) built by the prisoners was
never consecrated to any religion and used by all. Fire gutted
the church in 1884. The smaller wooden church, St. David’s,
was consecrated in 1927 and is still used for regular worship
by the Anglican Church.
The Commandant’s residence grew from a simple wooden
cottage (1833) to a many-roomed complex, through a series
of additions up the hill behind it. Behind the house stood the
Semaphore, a large tower that passed information through
visual signals. This was the quickest way to signal a message
to Hobart.
In 1833, Rev. John Manton selected Opossum Island as
a burial place for the decreased of Port Arthur, changing the
name to Isle of the Dead. Some 1,000 burials took place
here before the close of the settlement in 1877. Convicts
and ex-convict paupers were buried in unmarked graves in
the lower part of the island. Graves of free people were on
the higher ground, marked by elaborate headstones cut by
convict stonemasons.
Located in the colonial town of Richmond at the top of
the peninsula is St. John’s Church, the oldest Roman Catholic
Church in Australia; the sandstone bridge and the town “gaol”
(jail) are likewise ranked as the oldest in Australia. And, if
you’re looking for local wildlife, the Bonorong Animal Park
lets you get up close and personal … even with the famed
Tasmanian Devil.
I often ask those who travel with us in our group tours to
Australia what they considered the highlight of their trip …
not surprisingly, the No. 1 answer has been “Port Arthur.”
Need I say more?
The late Don Kiselewski wrote from his personal
experiences, having traveled in 122 countries and cruised the
oceans, seas and rivers of the world. Palm Beach Gardens
Travel Leaders, his family owned and operated agency, is
located at Mirasol Town Square, 11360 North Jog Road,
Building A, Suite 102-6, Palm Beach Gardens. The agency
has been serving the travel needs of the South Florida area
for over a quarter of a century. Contact them at (561) 694-
9696 or Aussie@PBGTravel.com.
Photos by Don Kiselewski
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