Menu
We left Jess and Alex’s house at approximately 9:00am. We stopped for gas and filled the car tires with air. Unfortunately, the weather was not really cooperating yet and it was still rainy and cold.
This prevented us from enjoying some of the sites we had on our list… and we kept missing the road signs… still getting used to the distances in kilometers, I suppose.
We canceled the scenic route on the East side of the Tasman Peninsula, hoping we could try again before leaving the area. The low clouds made it very difficult to see anything… but we were still able to take a photo of the Bay of Dunalley (see above photo, right side).
Since the weather was not getting better, we decided to go directly to the Port Arthur Historic Site. At the visitor center we bought our ticket (which included a 20-min harbor cruise and a short stop at the Isle of the Dead (those who bought special tour tickets could off-board, but we didn’t do that).
Port Arthur is quite nice and there is still a great deal of work to restore and maintain the historic buildings. Some buildings are in ruins but they’re still interesting to see – and fun to take pictures of. The rain showers and the clouds made photography a bit challenging but in the end the photos turned out quite nicely. I personally love clouds in the sky for my photos as they add so much depth and intensity to the photographs.
The Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA) was created in 1987 to preserve and maintain the Port Arthur Historic Site – a major Australian tourism destination and one of the country’s most important heritage sites.
In 2011, PAHSMA became responsible for the Coal Mines Historic Site and Cascades Female Factory Historic Site. All three sites (known collectively as the Port Arthur Historic Sites) are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the eleven sites comprising the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property.
Harbor Boat Tour
Since it was already past noon, we grabbed lunch in the large lobby area of the visitor center. We both ordered a nice hamburger with French Fries (chips rather, as they say over here)… very healthy, but at least it was good “bad” food.
After lunch it was time for our small harbor cruise… luckily we both had our hats and rain jackets as the weather was not improving… well, at times the sun was trying to pierce through the clouds but without much success.
On the left photo, you can see the small cruise boat for the harbor tour. From the boat, we had beautiful views of the shores, Isle of the Dead, and the houses along Mason Cove.
Photo gallery taken from the boat
Discovering Port Arthur
In spite of the rain showers, we had fun discovering the ruins and buildings of Port Arthur. It wasn’t very crowded and it was easy to take photographs without people in them… which is always much more pleasant!
The Penitentiary (#1 on the Map) is one of the largest buildings in the site. It was originally constructed as a flour mill and granary in 1845 to aid the settlement’s endeavor for self-sufficiency.
Ten years later, the building was converted into the Penitentiary with 136 cells, a dormitory, a dining hall, a library, and a Catholic chapel. The building fell into a state of ruin since 1877 due to fires and people taken away the bricks to build local houses and sheds.
Behind the Penitentiary is the Hospital (#9 on the Map; see photo above and photo on the right).
In the Hospital, convicts were treated for numerous health conditions contracted from working outdoors and sleeping in cold cells.
By the early 1860s, many convicts were housed and treated in the Paupers’ Depot (#11 on the Map) or the Asylum (#12 on the Map), according to new ideas that recognized the importance of mental healthcare. The Asylum today includes a museum and café.
The Separate Prison (#13 on the map) was designed to deliver a new method of punishment and reform through isolation and contemplation. Convicts were locked in single cells for 23 hours each day. Here they ate, slept, and worked, with just one hour a day allowed for exercise, alone, in a high-walled yard. This building went through extensive restoration between 2007 and 2013.
Above photos: Isabelle standing at the pulpit inside the chapel. Jim in a cell (I doubt they were smiling), Some of the people were in prison for stealing food or other small stuff… basically the Brits were trying to get rid of the poor so they could put them to work for free, or in other words, as slaves.
Walking through the Gardens
The rain finally did stop – somewhat – and we were able to walk around the gardens and visit other buildings. We walked through the gardens of the Trentham cottage (#15 on the map) and, inside the cottage, we learned about the history of the family who used to live there.
We walked up toward the area called Civil Officers’ Row (#16/17/18 on the Map) where there are several cottages and gardens. The Row area consists of the Magistrate’s House, the Roman Catholic Chaplain’s House, the Junior Medical Officer’s House, the Accountant’s House, the Parsonage, and the Government Cottage. All “important” people for running the prison.
Checking at the Stewarts Bay Lodge
We could have spent more time at the site but we had to check in before the reception closed, which was before 4:00pm. They were really nice at the reception and provided some insight about the region. We took the keys to our cottage and got settled. The cottages are scattered in-between Stewarts Bay and Port Arthur site itself (within walking distance to the site). Our cottage is really nice with a large balcony (too cold to use though), near the Bay, and it is very comfortable with a kitchen, a large dining and living area, and three bedrooms (just in case Jess and Alex could’ve joined us, but they still had to work).
Dinner at the 1830 Restaurant
We had made dinner reservations at the restaurant of the Stewarts Bay Lodge, but unfortunately the reception had told us earlier on that the restaurant was closed due to the Chef having Covid. On our behalf, they called the restaurant that is located inside the Port Arthur Site and we were able to make a reservation.
We had a very nice seafood dinner (I had a deep-sea fish from Tasmania but can’t remember the name) with some white wine from the region. All in all, a very pleasant dinner.
TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES DRIVEN = 75 miles (121 km)
TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES WALKED = 3.3 miles (5.3 km)
© 2022 Voyage bien. All Rights Reserved
Website development – Profit Web Ideas