We flew from Melbourne to Hobart in Tasmania, where we picked up our rental car - thanks to an upgrade, a larger SUV. We then drove straight to Port Arthur.
On the way, we encountered the first animal island resident on the road: an echidna was scurrying back and forth on the edge in search of food. We stopped with hazard lights on until it disappeared into the underbrush and was safe from other drivers.
In the evening, we took a walk to the former prison grounds and near our hotel. There we saw funny hopping creatures, which turned out to be Tasmanian pademelons after further research. Tasmanian pademelon The next morning, we set off early to be at the opening of the historical site of the convict settlement, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2010. After arriving in Port Arthur, the convicts who became re-offenders after being shipped to Australia were sent here. Port Arthur Penal Settlement Due to its remote location and limited escape options (water and mountains all around), this area was chosen as a site. It became the largest penal colony in Australia. What was special here was the testing of not only physical punishment, but also psychological punishment. In addition, prisoners who defied the rules were placed in solitary cells where no sounds were allowed to penetrate. The guards did not speak, so the prisoners lived in their silent cells for 23 hours a day and were not allowed to speak during the one hour they were allowed in the yard. former church The only variation was the mandatory church service on Sundays, which applied to all 1100 prisoners, of course. However, those who were punished with solitary confinement were also brought there in a box, which allowed them to see only the priest and not have contact with others. lunatic asylum As you can imagine, this treatment did not leave the psyche unaffected, so the establishment of a lunatic asylum became necessary... The program also included a harbor cruise, where we passed the Isle of the Dead (cemetery island) and the Boys' Island. In Port Arthur, adults and children were accommodated separately, which was quite innovative. The 9-18 year olds even received schooling and sometimes vocational training, so that they could support themselves with honest work after serving their sentence.
