Hobart to Pt Arthur

Hobart town grew from a British settlement, founded in 1804 on the Derwent River estuary and is the capital city of Tasmania. Its cultural and historical hub is Salamanca Square, and nearby is the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, with exhibitions highlighting the original Aboriginal inhabitants and the catastrophic effect European colonisation had on the people. About 28 kilometres north is Richmond, with the oldest stone bridge in Australia, built by convict labour between 1823 and 1825. Port Arthur, on the Forestier Peninsula, a penal settlement from 1830 to 1877, still has many buildings from those grim days.

Tasmania's capital Hobart on the Derwent River, seen from Mount Wellington (1268 metres).

Looking north to Tasmania's capital Hobart, from Mount Nelson, 1988.

Franklin Square with its fountain in Hobart, capital of Tasmania. It was named after John Franklin, a former Governor of Tasmania (1988).

A market at Salamanca Place in Hobart (1988).

A “One-man-band'” at Salamanca Market, in 1988.

Salamanca Square, the cultural, historical hub of Hobart.

Constitution Dock, the harbour-side dock area of Hobart, on the Derwent River.

The Mawson's Huts Replica Museum and shops along Argyle Street opposite Franklin Wharf, in the centre of Hobart. Sir Douglas Mawson was a British-born Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer.

Replica of a hut as it was made by Tasmanian Aborigines, in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.

Replica of a Tasmanian bark canoe as it was made by Tasmanian Aborigines, in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

The Conciliation (1840) an oil on canvas painting by Benjamin Duterrau (1767-1851), in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart. It represents the 1831 meeting between George Augustus Robinson and the Big River and Oyster Bay tribes - the last of the free Aboriginal people captured. It also depicts Truganini, being warned by a warrior not to trust Robinson.

Elizabeth Street, a pedestrian street in Hobart.

The beach at Sandy Bay, to the south of Hobart.

View of Sandy Bay with the Wrest Point Hotel, and Hobart City (in 1988).

The Japanese Garden, at the Botanical Gardens in Hobart.

The oldest bridge of Australia, built by convict labour between 1823 and 1825 in Richmond, just north of Hobart.

The sandstone bridge over the Coal River, built in 1825 by convicted prisoners in Richmond.

The Richmond Arms Hotel on Bridge Street in Richmond.

The causeway (built by convict labour) across Orielton Lagoon in Sorell.

View to the Penitentiary of Port Arthur, at the tip of the Forestier Peninsula, established in 1830 and a harsh penal settlement until 1877.

The Penitentiary in Port Arthur, originally constructed in 1845 as a flour mill and granary. After this failed, it was converted to accommodations for convics, with 13 separate cells on the bottom two floors and a dormitory for 348 men on the top floor. It was gutted by fire in 1897.

The Guard Tower, built in medieval style in 1835, overlooking the Penitentiary of Port Arthur.

View of the harbour, with the Guard Tower, near the Senior Military Officer’s Quarters, the home of the Military Officer in charge of the soldiers at Port Arthur.

Point Puer the boy's prison, operated from 1834 to 1849. Young offenders were separated from the older convicts to protect them from criminal influence. Most of the boys were aged between 14 and 17, with the youngest just 9 years old. Point Puer was renowned for its regime of stern discipline and harsh punishment; many of the boys received an education and some were given the opportunity of trade training.

The Isle of the Dead, the final resting place not only for convicts, but also civilian and military officers, their wives and children. Between 1833 and 1877 around 1100 people were buried at the settlement’s cemetery.

The house of the Commandant, Port Arthur’s most senior official. A residence befitting this rank and position was erected on high ground in 1833 and grew substantially over the years of occupation.

The Asylum or Paupers’ Depot, where by the early 1860s many convicts were housed and treated, according to new ideas that recognised the importance of mental healthcare. The Asylum today includes a museum and café. In the background the Hospital ruins.

The Church, representing the important role of religion in convict reform at Port Arthur, built in 1837. Up to 1100 people attended compulsory services here each Sunday.

View from Scorpion Rock Lookout to the Church and Port Arthur penal station. From 1833 Port Arthur was used as a punishment station for repeat offenders from all the Australian colonies.

View to the Church of Port Arthur penal station and Civil Officer's Row, separating senior officers and their families from the convict population and provided them with housing suited to their status. Across the road is the Anglican St David’s Church (1927), one of several buildings and areas remaining from the post-convict period as the township of Carnarvon.

The Separate Prison (1849), designed to deliver a new method of punishment and reform through isolation and contemplation.

A cell in the Separate Prison; the Asylum 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.

Convict Barracks, built in 1837, where the convicts on the Coal Mines site stayed, about 27 kilometres north of Port Arthur. Convicts worked in the coal mines on this site during the 1840s.