Tasmania's prisons, today World Heritage

port arthur

One of the states that make up Australia is Tasmanianto. It is an island that is 240 kilometers south of the main island and to get there you have to cross the Bass Strait. It is a very large island and is actually part of an archipelago made up of more than three hundred smaller islands. It is a world unto itself and a trip to Australia is not really complete without Tasmania.

Visit Australia and Tasmania It takes time, so in case you want to do it you have to organize it well or have at least 20 days of vacation. Is that Australia has many wonders, between mountains, forests and the Great Barrier Reef, a unique tropical paradise in the world. So, you have to jump from one place to another to peck as many of its tourist attractions as possible, but what distinguishes Tasmania is its old colonial prisons. Did you know that this distant English colony was originally a very tough penal colony?

That's how it is. The prisons of old England were by then saturated. The poverty and destitution produced by the uneven growth from the Industrial Revolution threw the peasants to the cities, to the poverty and the delinquency. Sending them to the other side of the world seemed the best option and thus men, women and many children crossed the seas to land in Australia and Tasmania. Today, it is possible to make a Tasmanian Historic Prisons Tour. Do you sign?

It is estimated that around 70 thousand people were brought to what by the XNUMXth century was known as the Van Diemens Land, current Tasmania. And of course there are silent witnesses to that story that had several tragic chapters. East Tasmanian Historic Prisons Tour aims to remember them and so we can visit five places that UNESCO has already declared World Heritage Sites:

  • Port Arthur Historic Site
  • Cascades Women's Factory
  • Darlington Probation Station
  • Brickendon & Woolmers Estates
  • Sarah Island
  • Richmond Bridge
  • Memorial Convict Trail

Let's see briefly what story each of these places related to the Tasmania criminal history. In the case of Port Arthur (top photo), we have a complex of buildings that works as an open-air museum. There are more than 30 buildings, in ruins and restored, of a prison that worked between 1830 and 1877 and through which 12.700 people passed. There are 40 hectares to travel and it is located about 60 kilometers from Hobart. It is open every day of the year and the ticket costs AU $ 37, being valid for two consecutive days.

factory-female-cascades

La Cascades Women's Factory (above), is in Hobart and dates from 1828. It operated until 1856 and was intended to remove women from the negative influences of the city. Some 25 thousand women passed through here. The site is open every day of the year and there are guided tours. The Darlington Probation Station It is on Isla María and worked between 1825 and 1832. Its buildings are intact and shocking. The prisoners worked, they were far from free people and because of the distance they could not escape.

brickendon it was and still is today a farm in operation. But then this farm and its neighbor, woolmersThey had many prisoners working for them: building, cleaning, plowing, and so on. You can even stay to sleep in one of these old buildings. It's about a 20-minute drive from Lauceston, Tasmania's other major city. For his part in the Sarah Island There were also prisons and they can be visited. There are ruins everywhere of what was once known as "The gate of hell".

richmond-bridge

El Richmond Bridge It was built by prisoners. It is in Richmond, a town 25 kilometers from Hobart, and is included in the Trail of the Tasmanian Prisoners or Convict Trail. It is still in use and the prisoners built it in two years, from 1823 to 1825. The construction was fierce and the prisoners could hardly sleep.

As you can see, distant Tasmania has its origins stained with blood and suffering. And follow the Convict Trail it is the best way not to leave this fantastic land without knowing the full story. The Convict Trail o Prisoners' Trail It has a total of 205 kilometers and part of Hobart, passes through Richmond, Tasman National Park, Eaglehawk Neck and Port Arthur Historic Site. It takes about three days and these are the distances:

  • from Hobart to Richmond there are 27 km
  • from Richmond to Port Arthur there are 83 km
  • from Port Arthur to Hobart there are 95 km

How to get to Tasmania? It is easy, you can take a plane in any of the cities of Australia or you can leave Melbourne aboard one of the most famous ferries in the world, the Spirit of Tasmania. If you have a car, you can take it up, if you have a bike, too, and if you can't, you can rent a cabin with a bed or sleep on deck with your sleeping bag. Crossing the Bass Strait is calm and enjoyable.

spirit-of-tasmania

The Spirit of Tasmania connects Melbourne with Davenport and the rate depends on whether you are traveling by car, if you rent a cabin, if you are traveling alone, one way or round trip. For these dates a round trip without a car can be around 86 Australian dollars leaving at 7:30 pm.


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