port arthur

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I t’s an eerie feeling walking into a place with such a shadowy history but there’s so much more to The Port Arthur Historic Site than the remnants of a prison. It’s the stories of the people who existed within those buildings that make it truly remarkable. Entering the Visitors Cen- tre gives the vibe of a modern day theme park but beyond the elec- tronic gates is a picturesque cove of lush green gardens, dark glassy waters and the overwhelming sense of peacefulness. Convicts were first sent to Port Arthur in 1830. It was a ferle site rich in mber and the coastal lo- caon made it ideal for colonisaon and industrial development. Within a few years the staon had developed as a strict penitenary for the hard- est of criminals and repeat offend- ers. Boys and men were sent from Britain, Ireland and all over Australia to serve a life of heavy labour and brutal punishment. By the 1840’s Port Arthur’s populaon had grown to a colony of more than 2000 inmates, soldiers and civilian workers with families. A separate prison was built in 1850 to cope with the overflow of prisoners and was modelled on a revoluon- ary English panopcon to house the most troublesome convicts. It was an instuon that had been developed by English prison reformer and social theo- rist Jeremy Bentham. He described his method of reform as ‘a machine for grinding rogues into honest men’. The concept was that criminals could be rehabilitated psychologi- cally through separaon, discipline, religion, mentoring and educaon. It was an experiment in social behav- iour and sparked a mixture of cri- cism and support. Port Arthur A past ahead of its time.

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It’s an eerie feeling walking into a place with such a shadowy history but there’s so much more to The

Port Arthur Historic Site than the remnants of a prison. It’s the stories of the people who existed within those buildings that make it truly remarkable. Entering the Visitors Cen-tre gives the vibe of a modern day theme park but beyond the elec-tronic gates is a picturesque cove of lush green gardens, dark glassy waters and the overwhelming sense of peacefulness. ConvictswerefirstsenttoPortArthurin1830.Itwasafertilesiterichintimberandthecoastallo-cationmadeitidealforcolonisation

and industrial development. Within a fewyearsthestationhaddevelopedasastrictpenitentiaryforthehard-estofcriminalsandrepeatoffend-ers. Boys and men were sent from Britain, Ireland and all over Australia to serve a life of heavy labour and brutal punishment. By the 1840’s Port Arthur’s populationhadgrowntoacolonyof more than 2000 inmates, soldiers and civilian workers with families. A separate prison was built in 1850 to copewiththeoverflowofprisonersandwasmodelledonarevolution-aryEnglishpanopticontohousethemost troublesome convicts. It was an institutionthathadbeendevelopedby English prison reformer and social

theo-rist Jeremy Bentham. He described his method of reform as ‘a machine for grinding rogues into honest men’. The concept was that criminals could be rehabilitated psychologi-callythroughseparation,discipline,religion,mentoringandeducation.Itwas an experiment in social behav-iourandsparkedamixtureofcriti-cism and support.

Port Arthur

A past ahead of its time.

Wandering The Separate Prison today and witness-ing the daily lives of the criminals who dwelled there it is clear that Bentham’s technique of “silent treatment” was notaseasyasitseemed.Somecriticsdeemedthepracticeas more torturous than a good lashing but experience of corporal punishment in other convict camps had proved counterproductiveresultinginresentmentandhostilityratherthanreformation.Thebuildingisalive,echoingthesounds of men coughing and at work in their solitary cells and the daily sermons from the chapel at the heart of the compound. The cross shaped layout of the building al-lowedconstantsurveillanceandthesolitaryconfinementgaveprisonerstimetoreflectontheircrimes.Theywereconfinedtothecellsfor23hoursadayandlivedinsilence.Foodwasusedasmotivationforgoodbehaviourandre-moved for bad. Inmates were brainwashed with stories of sharkinfestedAntarcticwatersandhillsfencedbysoldiers,man traps and starving guard dogs. Most of which was truebutprisonershadlittleexposuretotheoutsideworld.Their only chance was a glimpse of sky beyond high stone walls bounding a small exercise yard. Along the corridor ofWingBareinteractivewindows into the lives of some of the men whohadspenttimeintheseparationward.Amemorable opportun-ist was Henry Singleton who made several ap-pearances at Port Ar-thur for various stealing offenses.Hewas‘abadcharacter’ and was constantly in trouble for refusing to work, talking and be-ing disobedient and he received countless sentences to TheSeparationPrison.Anumberoftimeshewascaughtattemptingtoescape.Ononeoccasionheconvinceddrunken wardens to give him the keys so that he could let them back into the prison when they were too inebri-ated to do it themselves. He took the opportunity to make his own copies and would let himself out of and into his cell whenever he liked. Eventually, riddled with guilt, he turned the keys in but was not punished. The wardens were sacked.

Overtimecracksappearedinthesystemandthere was growing concern for the mental health of the men who had entered the prison as criminals but were nowbeingtreatedaspatients. Some, like Henry Singleton, were truly broken andbeyondremorseandtreatment.Othersservedtheirsentenceandlefttheprisonrebornwithskills,educa-tionandopportunitiestheymayneverhavedreamedofin their previous lives. Looking around the grounds today it’s hard to believe that anyone could have experienced life under such a tough regime. It was a place that took in the worst kind of criminals, used them for free labour but at thesametimeendeavouredtoretrainandteach.Theircrimestodayseemminorandinsignificant,stealingahat, a loaf of bread and it’s tough to understand there was a need for rehab. Thesayingthattimehealscomestomind.Itisaplacewithahorrifichistory,duringthedaysofearlyAustraliancolonisationandmorerecentlytoo.What-everyourexpectationsmaybewhencomingtoaplacelike this, they’re easily overshadowed by the experience. You may enter with thoughts of balls and chains but you can’t help leaving enlightened by the spirits of the past.