Port Arthur, Tasmania
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A historic site on the south coast of Tasmania, Australia. It’s one of the oldest convict sites of Australia and today one of the best developed and most visited. The main reason that place is covered on this website, however, has less to do with convicts of the 19th century and more to do with a much more recent dark event: a mass shooting in 1996 in which three dozen people were killed. It was a particularly tragic but ultimately also cathartic moment in modern Australian history that led to much toughened-up gun ownership legislation. A memorial at Port Arthur is dedicated to the victims.
More background info: Port Arthur’s beginnings go back to a timber station established in the new British colony in Tasmania, Australia, in the 1830s. But soon the site developed into one of the most significant of the many penal colonies established by Britain “Down Under”. It became routine to transport those who were deemed its most hardened convicts to faraway colonies where they had to do hard labour. Shipbuilding was one sort of labour that was important at Port Arthur. Other work was done in coal mines. But there were also other crafts, from baking to sewing and whatnot.
A former granary was converted into a large penitentiary, later the so-called Separate Prison was constructed in which the regime was more one of psychologically punishing inmates. They were held in solitary confinement, were forbidden to speak (and had to wear silence masks once outside their cells – see also Old Melbourne Gaol), and only got minimal exposure to daylight in tiny exercise yards. Many prisoners broke down psychologically and developed mental disorders as a result of their treatment. It was rather convenient, then, that a “lunatic asylum” stood right next to the Separate Prison, facilitating transfer from one hell into another.
In addition to adult prisoners there was also a large contingent of juvenile convicts, boys as young as nine, who were housed separately from the main colony but also partook in hard labour.
Transportation to the colonies as a punishment usually ended with the convict, even when released, still staying on in the colony for want of the means to return home. It is hence sometimes said that Australia’s European-ethnic population was descendent mostly from convicts.
Those who died during their time at the penal colony were buried on a special separate cemetery island in the bay that forms the natural harbour of Port Arthur. This island is aptly called “Isle of the Dead”.
Port Arthur, due to its geography, was practically impossible to escape from. Nevertheless numerous attempts were made. One legendary case, one the guides never tire of relaying to visitors, is that of a prisoner who used a kangaroo hide as a disguise, imitating the animal’s hopping gait as he tried to get across the narrow strip of land that connected the peninsula with the main Tasmanian island at Eaglehawk Neck (see below). However, the guards who spotted him thought he was “easy meat” to supplement their meagre food rations and started shooting at him, at which point he discarded his disguise and gave himself up.
Transportation of convicts slowed down in the mid-1800s and came to a halt by 1877, when the prison was closed. But work activity continued at Port Arthur, then, from the 1880s, much of the land was parcelled up and plots of land were sold off at auction. At the same time the place was renamed “Carnarvon”.
The new occupants were not keen on preserving the old grim penal colony so its remnants fell into ruins or were even partially destroyed by the new inhabitants. Bushfires in 1895 and 1897 caused further damage to the site, in particular to the old penitentiary building and the hospital.
The legacy of the Port Arthur penal colony could not be suppressed, however, and interest in it grew again, now on the part of visitors. By the 1920s, the site had already become a venerable tourist attraction. In the wake of this, the name of the place reverted back to Port Arthur.
Now more concerted preservation efforts were made and eventually Port Arthur was integrated into the National Parks system in the 1970s. In 1987 the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority was founded that has since been running the site. In 2010, Port Arthur and ten other sites related to the convict history of Australia and in particular Tasmania were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
But what put Port Arthur on a contemporary dark-tourism map came on 28 April 1996, when Port Arthur saw the worst mass shooting tragedy in modern Australian history. The single perpetrator used three automatic rifles to kill some 35 people, injuring at least two dozen more. It was a massacre. The shooter was a disgruntled young man bitter about some property dispute at Port Arthur, but when he embarked on his killing spree the victims were random, most of them shoot dead at the historic site’s then Broad Arrow Cafe and adjacent gift shop. I won’t get into the gory details here. Suffice it to say that unlike in most other such mass shooting events the killer did not eventually turn his weapon on himself. Instead he drove away from the scene but was apprehended by security forces the next day. He was subsequently put on trial and sentenced to 35 terms of life imprisonment.
The shock of this massacre soon led to discussions about gun control laws. And indeed the measures taken by the government under then Prime Minister John Howard, which severely restricted access to guns and successfully encouraged citizens in possession of guns to hand them in to the police (in a buy-back scheme) are to this day hailed as a great success. The in many ways controversial PM Howard certainly managed to unite people behind these steps and still gets praise for it.
Incidents with shooting attacks did not completely cease after Port Arthur, but there hasn’t been any incident anywhere near the scale of that at Port Arthur in 1996 in Australia since. This is in stark contrast to what we see in the USA, where mass shootings have become regular news stories, while at the same time gun control is fiercely resisted by the gun lobbies and their supporters. Australia’s reaction could have served as a good role model, but sadly it is ignored in the “land of the free, home of the brave” … I think Australia’s measures were much braver and more freedom-preserving …
The former Broad Arrow Cafe is now a ruin and forms part of a memorial complex – yet it is but an add-on, one that only few visitors go and see. The main focus in terms of tourism is firmly on the historical penal colony relics – see below.
What there is to see: When I went on my big trip to Australia in the summer of 2024, Port Arthur was obviously high on my list of priorities in terms of dark tourism. I just had to decide how to do it – independently or on a tour, and if the latter what sort.
In the end I opted for an all-day tour by coach from Hobart, the Tasmanian capital, which I had chosen as my base. I decided on the tour option because this turned out to be only negligibly more expensive than hiring a car but had the advantage of being hassle-free. I’m not normally one for group tours, but in this case group dynamics were minimal to non-existent.
The narration by the coach driver actually provided a useful introduction (though there was no mention of the 1996 massacre) and he also pointed out significant spots we passed on the drive to Port Arthur. Once at the site we were given our tickets, which included a harbour cruise later on and a short intro guided tour at the former penitentiary (ca. half an hour). After that intro tour everybody in our group went their separate ways and only reassembled for the harbour cruise and then again for the coach ride back to Hobart.
As there was time to spare before the beginning of the intro tour, I first headed to the memorial site for the 1996 mass-shooting massacre (see above), as this was my main reason for coming here. The memorial complex includes the empty shell of what was the Broad Arrow Cafe, where the largest number of victims were shot dead. Next to it is a fairly large reflecting pool, and there’s also a memorial cross and a plaque with the names of all the victims.
Then it was time to go to the meeting point by the Visitor Centre for the start of the guided intro tour. This took place mostly at the penitentiary. The guide was actually from the USA but was clearly well versed in the local history, conveyed it well and in an at times quite witty and tongue-in-cheek manner.
After the tour was over, I headed straight to the Separate Prison and the Asylum. The prison is certainly the visually grimmest part of the whole historical site. The cell blocks featured panels with individual prisoners’ stories as well as ones about the general tough rules the inmates had to follow. The walls of the exercise yard have been partially reconstructed in order to provide a visual impression of the grim atmosphere at this place. For comparison, a couple of walls between individual exercise yards were left in their broken-down state. Indeed I’d say the reconstruction was a good thing.
The Asylum next door was much changed after the prison closed in 1877 and was reworked to serve as a town hall for the new settlement of Carnarvon. Dances were held here too. A screen gave an overview of the archaic treatment of the mentally ill at the time, though there were also significant reforms. One wing of the former dormitories of the Asylum now houses a comprehensive museum exhibition about not just the Asylum but about the penal colony system in general and features many an artefact. But I won’t go into details here as it’s all about a time before 1877.
Outside there are also numerous open-air text-and-photo/image info panels, many about certain individual prisoners or staff or particular structures, such as the laundry or bakery.
When it was time for the harbour cruise included in the ticket, I made my way over to the jetty. As the boat departed we got good views over Mason Cove towards the whole former penal colony behind it. We sailed past the former shipyard, then headed towards Point Puer (where the boys’ prison used to be), got a glimpse of the open sea behind it, and then sailed on to the “Isle of the Dead”. Here some passengers disembarked together with a guide for a tour of that island. But this was not included in the ticket that I had, and I hadn’t arranged for this add-on in advance, so I missed out on it. It might have been interesting …
After the boat tour I walked to the former shipyard to explore that place, which is rather isolated from the rest of the Port Arthur site, and indeed hardly any other visitors went there. Unfortunately both buildings at the ex-shipyard were locked.
So instead I walked back along the front of Mason Cove and headed back towards the penitentiary, which I now also explored from the rear, including the parts that were actually a laundry, bathhouse and kitchen. And onwards I walked past the former Law Courts (now in ruins) and past the bottom of the sturdy guard tower (still intact).
The end of the path led to the former Commandant’s House. Here the same guide that had done the intro tour earlier was on duty to deliver one of the several free ranger talks offered at Port Arthur (see below). However, I explored the house mostly on my own. It has reconstructed interiors with period furniture, a well-stocked larder, a collection of china crockery and a mock-up of a kitchen. On the walls are info panels that are mostly about the ten commandants Port Arthur had over the course of its time as a penal colony.
Behind the Commandant’s House is a vegetable plot and herb garden and behind that several outbuildings: former stables, servants’ accommodation, laundry, etc.
At the top of the grassy slope behind this stands Smith O’Brian’s Cottage, named after William Smith O’Brian, who was an Irish Nationalist, parliamentarian and political movement leader in Ireland (see also Kilmainham Gaol!). After the 1848 rebellion he ended up a political prisoner at Port Arthur. The small exhibition inside the cottage focuses on his story but also covers other political prisoners (also from Canada).
Standing tall on the grassy slope is what’s left of the former Hospital. The remaining ruins are but a shadow of the once grand building that was devastated in the bushfires of the late 19th century.
The main path through the complex (“Champ Street”) leads away from the old ruins heading north-west. It goes past some buildings that were erected after the prison closed in 1877. This includes a police station built in 1936 at a time when a police presence was deemed necessary to prevent too much vandalism by visitors. The interior was not accessible at the time of my visit.
The next building coming up is Trentham, a pretty single-storey cottage that was built around 1900 as a private residence. It was bought up by the government in 1947. The restored interiors give another impression of what life was like around 1900, and how bland the totally English-inspired cuisine was (but that was the case across Australia until just a few decades ago). In front of and to the side of the cottage is a pretty garden.
Then a bit to the left of the main path stand three buildings that again have associations with the penal-colony days. The first is the Junior Medical Officer’s House from 1848, the Catholic Chaplain’s House (1843) and the Visiting Magistrate’s House (1847). There are yet more exhibitions in some parts of these houses, including more period interiors and various objects in glass display cases. At the Medical Officer’s House there is also a late lunchtime talk by a park ranger.
This is the western half of what’s referred to as “Civil Officers’ Row. Its eastern half consists of another three buildings. The first is the Accountant’s House (1843), which was closed when I was there. Next is the Parsonage (1842-43), which has some post-office-related exhibits like a letterbox, a letter sorting cabinet, an old-style analogue telephone switchboard and a couple of old telephones functioning as audio stations (where you can listen to stories about life in Tasmania). The last one of the row is the former Government Cottage (built in 1853), which is only a ruined shell now after it was ravaged in the 1895 bushfire.
In between stands the imposing ruins of the neo-Gothic church of Port Arthur, which is quite photogenic. Set back a bit from this is an intact chapel dating back to 1927.
From the church a path leads down, through the so-called Government Gardens and back towards the Visitor Centre.
I hadn’t noticed this before when I was keen to get to the 1996 Memorial Garden first, but inside the Visitor Centre is also an exhibition called “The Port Arthur Gallery”, which is in fact the most modern part of museum exhibitions at the Port Arthur site.
During your visit you can look up individual stories matching the name on a playing card you are encouraged to pick up at the entrance (a similar approach is also followed e.g. in the Bremerhaven Emigration Museum or the USHHM). At the core of this exhibition is a detailed scale model of the whole Port Arthur compound as it may have looked in its heyday. Amongst the multitude of other exhibits is also a kangaroo hide that one prisoner attempting to escape tried to use as a disguise (which however backfired – see above). As the “Port Arthur Gallery” inside the Visitor Centre is the most state-of-the-art in ‘musealization’ at this site it comes as no surprise that it also included some of those unavoidable interactive screens hardly any contemporary museum seems to be able to do without.
The exhibition covers the entire history of Port Arthur and also beyond, namely that of transportation of convicts to faraway colonies as a severe from of punishment in general. Britain may have been “leading the way” in the practice (see also Andaman Islands), but was hardly alone in it. The same was also undertaken by France (see especially French Guiana) or Portugal (see Cape Verde).
This exhibition also covers the 1996 mass shooting massacre that the Memorial Garden (see above) commemorates more symbolically. Here the story is told more concretely, if only briefly. But at least it’s mentioned.
Also in the Visitor Center is a self-service cafeteria and, in the evenings only, a full-service restaurant, as well as a large museum shop.
All in all, there can be no doubt that Port Arthur is a significant and well-managed historical site that offers loads to visitors. It’s really a prime tourist attraction. However, from the specialist, modern dark-tourism perspective, which is generally focused on the modern era (see here), there isn’t all that much of relevance to that period. The 1996 massacre is represented only by the memorial garden, which, apart from the cafe ruins, is largely symbolical, and by a short section in the Visitor Centre’s exhibition. Still, I found the day tour to Port Arthur, and the ca. six hours I spent at the site itself, quite engaging. And all those ruins and the reconstructed interiors of the other buildings were certainly a feast for the photographer in me (the gallery below only has a very small selection of those interior shots). So I found it was a day well spent and worth the expense.
Location: on the Tasman Peninsula, in the south-eastern corner of Tasmania, the separate island state of Australia, ca. 100 km (60 miles) south-east of the state’s capital Hobart.
Google Maps locators:
Visitor Centre, ticket counter and exhibition: [-43.1457, 147.8505]
April 1996 Memorial Garden with Broad Arrow Cafe ruin: [-43.1464, 147.8514]
Penitentiary: [-43.1481, 147.8505]
Separate Prison and Asylum: [-43.1485, 147.8474]
Harbour cruise jetty: [-43.1469, 147.8534]
Isle of the Dead: [-43.1491, 147.8674]
former shipyard: [-43.1455, 147.8555]
Commandant’s House: [-43.1491, 147.8516]
Smith O’Brian’s Cottage: [-43.1493, 147.8497]
Hospital ruins: [-43.1487, 147.8494]
Junior Medical Officer’s House: [-43.1465, 147.8464]
Parsonage: [-43.1461, 147.8473]
church ruins: [-43.1456, 147.8479]
Government Gardens: [-43.1459, 147.8494]
Access and costs: a bit remote, relatively easy to get to only by car, or by organized tour by coach; not cheap but you get a lot for your money.
Details: Generally you have to ask yourself: do you want to visit individually, then you have to self-drive a (hire) vehicle – OR you opt for an organized/guided day-return tour by coach from Hobart. I saved myself the hassle of a hire car and went for the coach tour – see details below.
If you’re driving from Hobart yourself, first leave the city in an eastbound direction along Highway A3, then from Sorell drive along the Arthur Highway (C349/C334/A9) until you get to the well-signposted site entrance. The drive takes about 80-90 minutes (each way). There are a good number of (free) parking spaces, but on busy days these can quickly fill up, so it’s a good idea to try and get there early.
Theoretically you can also get to Port Arthur by public transport, namely by regular bus. But, and it’s a big BUT: according to the official Tassie transport website, the bus line (734) that goes from Hobart to Port Arthur does so only once a day (the fare is AUD 8), and that in the afternoon (3.45 p.m. on weekdays, 3 p.m. at weekends and on public holidays) and the ride takes two hours. This means you’d need two nights of accommodation at Port Arthur, one on arrival, and one after your visit the next morning. That’s because the bus back to Hobart only runs early in the morning (very early, at 6.11 a.m. on weekdays, and 8 a.m. at weekends and on public holidays). It seems crazy, but I triple-checked it and that’s indeed what always comes up when searching the official site (and on Google Maps too). If you still do decide to take this bus, get out at the stop at Port Arthur General Store, from where you have to walk all the way to the Visitor Centre (ca. 800m).
Port Arthur lies on a bay that is a superb natural deep-water harbour – hence cruise ships sometimes come into the bay to disgorge thousands of additional visitors all at once, as these damned monsters of the seas tend to do wherever they go (one of the many reasons I hate them so much). As our intro tour guide at the site made quite clear, it’s absolutely awful when that happens. But you can check ahead on the Port Arthur website for current cruise ship schedules so you know what times to avoid (see here – external link, opens in a new tab).
Opening times of the Port Arthur Historic Site are: daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed only on Christmas Day.
Admission: AUD 48 (concession AUD 38, children aged 7-17 AUD 23, children under 7 get in for free – various family packages are also available). Tickets are valid for two days. When booking tickets online you can also add additional “experiences”, such as a stop at and tour of the Isle of the Dead (for an extra AUD 30). Furthermore there are 90 minute-long in-depth small-group tours (AUD 30), “ghost tours” (AUD 35) and there’s even an exclusive “VIP” package including a four-hour tour, snacks, drinks and lunch (for a whopping AUD 395!).
The coach tour from Hobart that I went on (contact me if you want to know more details) currently (as of October 2024) costs AUD 99 for an adult ticket (AUD 78 for children), including the 90-minute transfer by bus (and back), the regular admission tickets, intro tour on site and a 20-minute harbour cruise. In theory you can also buy just the coach transfer but that does not save you any money (the fare is AUD 60 for same-day return, and AUD 35 one-way). However, it could gain you more time and flexibility for more in-depth exploration and an overnight stay. The day-return tours depart Hobart early in the morning (by 7.30 a.m.), return is at quarter to five and you’ll be back in Hobart by ca. 6.15 p.m. (depending on traffic – we had some thick traffic near Hobart that slowed us down).
At the Port Arthur site you have to be prepared for a lot of walking! It’s quite a sprawling site, some paths are fairly steep and there are steps, so for people with mobility issues not everything will be accessible. For some distances there’s a shuttle service specially for mobility-impaired visitors (but not anybody else). These use golf-cart-like electric buggies that regularly pick up and drop off at various spots between 10.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m.; it’s best to check in at the Visitor Centre counter if you think you may require this service.
Finally, if you want to do Port Arthur in its fullest depth you may want to time your route to coincide with the various free ranger talks available. The schedule for these changes constantly (daily) so you need to get the most up-to-date info from the official website’s “what’s on” section (external link, opens in a new tab).
Time required: at least four to five hours or the best part of a whole day if you want to see everything; you can also spread your visit over two days to make it more leisurely and increase your chances of catching as many of the free ranger talks as possible.
Combinations with other dark destinations: One place related to the penal colony that was pointed out to us on the coach drive from Hobart to the site was the so-called Dog Line at Eaglehawk Neck. It’s at the narrowest part of land connecting the Tasman Peninsula (where Port Arthur is) to the Tasmanian main island. It was here that there was the only chance of escape from the peninsula overland (and the waters were said to be too shark-infested). The authorities were of course keenly aware of this and hence fortified and guarded this only 30m-wide strip of land. This was enhanced by up to nine tethered guard dogs positioned at close intervals of only a few metres from each other. There was hence little chance of getting through this line of fierce canines. Plus there were guards with guns stationed here too.
If you’re not on a tour but are driving yourself, you could make a stop here to see the bronze sculpture of one of those guard dogs and also have a look in the nearby guardhouse.
There are also yet more sites that are part of the Tasmanian Convict Trail of World Heritage Sites, such as the Coal Mines Historic Site, which is located in the north-westernmost part of the Tasman Peninsula.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: Also en route between Hobart and Port Arthur is a Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park known as “Tasmanian Devil Unzoo”. As the name vaguely implies, you won’t meet animals in enclosures here but rather in their natural environment. The wallabies there are apparently quite friendly and you can feed and pet them, other animals like echidnas can, with a bit of luck, be seen rummaging around in the undergrowth. The star species here, however, are the Tasmanian devils – and apparently you can see them by going on walks with a park ranger at feeding time.
Tasmania is also chock-full of natural beauty spots – far too many to go into here. Check the relevant mainstream internet resources for travellers in Tassie.
