Port Arthur

At Port Arthur, we stayed at a lovely caravan park which had lots of wildlife. Some of the animals were comfortable enough to come to come right up to us, so we could feed them. We spent most of the day at the Port Arthur historic site.  

The first activity was a boat cruise around the harbour of Port Arthur. We saw what is called the Isle of the Dead and Point Puer. The Isle of the Dead is a small island where the convicts were buried. Point Puer was the site of a juvenile prison for boys aged 9 and over, the first of the British Empire. This is Dad, Jacob and I on the boat cruise around the harbour.

We were given some cards on entry, which represented convicts. My card was the 10 of clubs. It represented a convict named John Thomas. He was a Labourer and Sailor, aged 39, who was from Liverpool in England. John was convicted in October 1829 for stealing a table cloth and spoons and was sentenced to 7 years. He was sent to Port Arthur for escaping from his gang and attempting to stow away on a ship that was about to leave the colony.

Jacob and I in the visitors centre trying on some shackles and chains.

These are some of the buildings constructed by the convicts. Some were closed off for restoration, but most were accessible.

Jacob, Dad and I standing at the top of the stairs.

Back at the caravan park, we found Pademelons eating the bits of seed from yesterday. It was a lovely surprise.

I couldn’t believe it when this shy Pademelon came up to me very slowly and ate a peach from my hand. You can see how gentle he was putting his claws on my hands. They are a small marsupial, the smallest wallaby in Tasmania. I think they are so beautiful. I hadn’t seen one before.

He was really enjoying the peach. You can even see his little tongue.