Port Arthur, Tasmania - The Convict Settlement (1833-1877)

Port Arthur Panoramic View
[by Noodle snacks]

Port Arthur is a former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is the top tourist attraction in Tasmania. The settlement is named after Van Diemen's Land lieutenant governor George Arthur and housed some of the worse British (and Irish) criminals from 1833 until the 1850s. The prison closed in 1877.

The Tasman peninsula, containing Port Arthur, had a 30 m wide isthmus called Eaglehawk Neck which was guarded by soldiers and hungry dogs. The surrounding waters were also rumoured to be infested with sharks.


Port Arthur Video:

Dorchester Assizes (Shire Hall, Dorchester) - Site of Trial of Joseph Feltham & George Smith

Old Shire Hall, High West St, Dorchester
Old Location of Dorchester Assizes and Crown Court
[Copyright Nigel Mykura, reuse under Creative Commons Licence.]

Joseph Feltham and George Smith were tried for housebreaking at Dorchester Assizes on the 13th March 1850. At that time the courthouse was at the Old Shire Hall. This location was also the site of the court trial for the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' in 1834. The actual courtroom used for my trial and also earlier for the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' is shown below. The judge for our trial in 1850 was Thomas Noon Talfourd.


Old Shire Hall Courtroom

Early Hobart Town Wharf Photographs

My first steps on terra firma australis were at the Hobart Town wharf when I walked off the convict ship Equestrian in 1852. The Hobart Town wharf has a special place in my heart. Below are some early photographs of the Hobart Town wharf area from the Archives Office of Tasmania (site).


View of Hobart Town from the Domain (1857) by J Sharp.
[Link]


Hobart Town Wharf Area (1860):
[Link]


New Wharf Hobart Town (1865):
[Link]


Hobart Town Wharf about 1866
[Link]


Hobart Town New Wharf - Photographer, S. Clifford (1869)
[Link]


Hobart from New Wharf - Photographer, S. Clifford (1869)
Parliament House, Hobart, New Wharf, Salamanca Place [Link]