Port Arthur

Thursday we spent the day at Port Arthur which is a notorious prison. This is where England sent its convicts. Men and boys were housed here. Women were housed in Hobart. Two to three thousand convicts were sent here. Punishment for disobeying rules involved whipping with a knotted rope soaked in salt water.

When the whipping no longer worked, a new type of punishment was devised. The prisoners were housed in cells without any light for 23 hours. They had 1 hour of exercise and wore masks to conceal their faces. No talking was allowed by the prisoners or guides. I don't think I would have lasted very long there!

Across the harbor, was the isle of the dead where we heard interesting stories about the men buried there. Even in death, there was a class system. All of the prisoners were buried on the lower side of the island, and officials were buried on the upper side so that they could look down at the prisoners.