4 Mar 10 – Port Arthur

By Craig: Seen one prison, seen 'em all. Mind you, as an old screw I don't know I would have liked to have worked in the days of the Port Arthur era. However, I took 3 opportunities to imprison Sam: first I had him in leg irons, then I had him behind bars and finally I attempted to lock him in solitary confinement. However, given today's current parenting laws I thought it best to keep him.



Understanding the prison went through an extreme fire, the current ruins are testament to the skills used in the original construction; they built them to last. Although the tour guide was a little over the top, the information provided about the prison itself, the numbers of convicts it held within its walls and the types of incarceration undertaken at Port Arthur made me think how lucky the inmates have it today.

While touring the prison grounds, we came across the old Governer's quarters which in itself was a snapshot of how the governing body of the prison lived in the 1800s.


Lou was quite taken by both the simplicity, intimacy and solitude of the study. I think the campervan's getting to her.

By Lou: Camped at the very pretty Fortescue Bay in Tasman National Park not far from Port Arthur. Our neighbours (Charmain, Matt, Zoe and Benjamin) were from Townsville and Sam didn’t waste a second introducing himself and playing at every opportunity with the 2 kids. The family had also been on the road since Christmas and we both observed our children, out of loneliness, had learned the ability to make friends immediately knowing time was counting down from the minute they met. We shared a camp fire and chatted easily with many things in common. I was delighted to find out we weren’t the only ones behind with schooling, and that the mum hadn’t had any time to read novels as she had envisaged. Mind you, she had also thought she’d get her psychology doctorate underway in her spare time, a confession which prompted wine spitting and hysterical laughter.




I recall being impressed with Port Arthur 20-odd years ago and I enjoyed it again this time. So discrete is the memorial to the victims of the massacre that we set out to look for it but got swept up in a sea of passengers from a P&O Cruise ship and got waylaid. There were so many people it was impossible to see all the exhibits because to stand still was to block traffic so it was a bit rushed and hectic in parts for my liking. Normally I love stopping to read every single information board but Craig and Sam were delighted that we flitted past. However the grounds tour and boat ride were great and once we were free to wander through the ruins on our own there was ample room and ironically it’s actually a very peaceful place now.
Have discovered that Sam is a tour guide groupie and loves being at the front right under their nose just waiting for an opportunity to ask a question. We usually hold our breath and think, “Oh no, what’s this one?” but he actually asked pertinent questions and provided decent answers. A bit of a laugh from the crowd and he’s happy as Larry.