Today was the last day of the tour & Tasmania. Beautiful island -- and for the most part, I really enjoyed the tour (although I am glad to get away from some of the people).
We spent most of the day at the Port Arthur Historic Site. Port Arthur was named after George Arthur, the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land. The settlement started as a timber station in 1830, but is best known for being a penal colony. From 1833 until 1853, all British criminals who re-offended after their arrival in Australia were sent to Port Arthur. Many Australians were embarrassed by their penal colonies -- so Port Arthur fell into disrepair after it was closed -- buildings collapsed, fires, etc. Now though -- it is the top tourist destination in Tasmania.
Port Arthur is located on the Tasman Peninsula -- connected to the rest of Tasmania by a tiny isthmus. So no no walls were required for the prison -- water formed a natural barrier -- and guards with dogs, etc. protected the isthmus section.
Port Arthur was a fully-functioning town -- with gardens, churches, doctors, etc. All of the building were built by convicts. Everyone who died in Port Arthur was buried on the "Island of the Dead" -- convicts were buried in unmarked graves.
The church was my favorite ruin. It lost its roof in a fire in the late 1800s -- and they had to cover the sandstone floor a couple of years ago because it was in bad shape and too dangerous for people to walk around on.
Port Arthur was also the site of the worst killing spree in Australia (known as the Port Arthur Massacre)
On Sunday 28 April 1996, the historic site of the Port Arthur penal colony in south-eastern Tasmania attracted hundreds of visitors. At lunchtime the Broad Arrow Cafe was full. 28 year old Martin Bryant from Hobart entered the cafe, ordered and ate a big lunch, then pulled a semi-automatic rifle out of his bag and started shooting indiscriminately at tourists and staff. Within 15 seconds, 17 shots had been fired, 12 were dead and 10 injured. By the time Bryant had finished his rampage, he had killed 35 people using a range of semi-automatic weapons in and around Port Arthur.
The newly-elected Howard government sat for the first time the following week. By May 10, all state and territory ministers had agreed to heavily restrict the ownership and use of self-loading rifles, self-loading and pump-action shotguns. A gun buy-back scheme was initiated, funded by a temporary increase in the Medicare levy. Some 643,000 firearms were handed in at a cost of $350 million.
After Port Arthur -- we stopped for a bit at Eaglehawk Neck to check out some interesting rock formations (Tasman Arch & Devil's Kitchen).
Weather: sunny, cloudy, rainy, 42 - 63F
Miles Walked: 5
kms driven on the Bus: 190.8
We spent most of the day at the Port Arthur Historic Site. Port Arthur was named after George Arthur, the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land. The settlement started as a timber station in 1830, but is best known for being a penal colony. From 1833 until 1853, all British criminals who re-offended after their arrival in Australia were sent to Port Arthur. Many Australians were embarrassed by their penal colonies -- so Port Arthur fell into disrepair after it was closed -- buildings collapsed, fires, etc. Now though -- it is the top tourist destination in Tasmania.
Port Arthur is located on the Tasman Peninsula -- connected to the rest of Tasmania by a tiny isthmus. So no no walls were required for the prison -- water formed a natural barrier -- and guards with dogs, etc. protected the isthmus section.
Port Arthur was a fully-functioning town -- with gardens, churches, doctors, etc. All of the building were built by convicts. Everyone who died in Port Arthur was buried on the "Island of the Dead" -- convicts were buried in unmarked graves.
The church was my favorite ruin. It lost its roof in a fire in the late 1800s -- and they had to cover the sandstone floor a couple of years ago because it was in bad shape and too dangerous for people to walk around on.
Port Arthur was also the site of the worst killing spree in Australia (known as the Port Arthur Massacre)
On Sunday 28 April 1996, the historic site of the Port Arthur penal colony in south-eastern Tasmania attracted hundreds of visitors. At lunchtime the Broad Arrow Cafe was full. 28 year old Martin Bryant from Hobart entered the cafe, ordered and ate a big lunch, then pulled a semi-automatic rifle out of his bag and started shooting indiscriminately at tourists and staff. Within 15 seconds, 17 shots had been fired, 12 were dead and 10 injured. By the time Bryant had finished his rampage, he had killed 35 people using a range of semi-automatic weapons in and around Port Arthur.
The newly-elected Howard government sat for the first time the following week. By May 10, all state and territory ministers had agreed to heavily restrict the ownership and use of self-loading rifles, self-loading and pump-action shotguns. A gun buy-back scheme was initiated, funded by a temporary increase in the Medicare levy. Some 643,000 firearms were handed in at a cost of $350 million.
After Port Arthur -- we stopped for a bit at Eaglehawk Neck to check out some interesting rock formations (Tasman Arch & Devil's Kitchen).
Weather: sunny, cloudy, rainy, 42 - 63F
Miles Walked: 5
kms driven on the Bus: 190.8
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