Recapturing Port Arthur

ort Arthur, Tasmania, is one of the best-known reminders of Australia’s convict past, conjuring dark images of incarceration and punishment from the founding years of our nation. Between 1830 and 1877, Port Arthur operated primarily as a destination for male convicts who reoffended in the colony – men regarded as the worst of their kind, requiring extra punishment, close surveillance and unceasing labour. It was a place where the lash, leg-irons and solitary confinement were used to correct their crooked