Port Arthur UNESCO World Heritage Site

After a fantastic week of hiking through Tasmania’s wilderness, it was time to enjoy the comforts of city life as well as some of the local tourist traps. The first stop was the Port Arthur Historic Site, which was actually very interesting and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Originally established as a timber-getting camp in 1830 that used convict labour to produce sawn logs for government projects, it was soon converted into a punishment station for repeat offenders from all the Australian colonies. By the 1840s, there were over 2000 convicts, soldiers and civilians living in the area, producing everything from worked stone and bricks to boats, ships, furniture, and clothing. It closed in 1877.

The largest and most distinct building was the Penitentiary. It was originally built as a flour mill in 1845, where convicts ground grain by walking on a treadmill if there wasn’t enough water, but it was soon converted into a prison. Like many of the buildings around the site, it was destroyed by bushfires over the years.

Beautiful civilian buildings, grounds, and gardens surrounded the main structures. The site sat on the beautiful Carnavon Bay on the Tasman Peninsula southeast of Hobart.