A darker part of Austrailia history is the era of "Transportation".
Britain in the late 1700's and early 1800's was going thru the Industrial Revolution. This prompted much of the population to move from the country & farms to seek opportunity - that either did not exist or paid miserably low wages - to the cities.
The result was rampant crime with people often stealing just to eat. Wth local prisons becoming overcrowded, the concept of "Transportation" to the new world of Austrailia was embraced. From a British aristocracy perspective, this solved several issues. It moved the undesirables out of the country. It offered relief to the crowded prison system. And finally, it populated the new territory of Austrailia.
Over the better part of half a century, 170,000 people were "sentenced" to move to Austrailia Transportation centers to set out, work - or die.
Some sentenced to "transportation" were as young as 7 - the legal age - and were sentenced for often 7-years for simple crimes such as stealing a loaf of bread, stealing a pail of soot, or other minimum infractions. In many cases, a 7-year sentence became a life sentence abroad as one could often not afford to return "home" to Britain after they received their "TOL" - Ticket of Leave.
A "Secondary" institution was Port Arthur - a brutal location on the Tasman Peninsula. Here, inmates were forced into labor making bricks, harvesting lumber, or doing whatever needed to be done, and it was designed to be feared so inmates would NOT want to leave the relatively "easier" (but still brutal) primary locations.
Don T visited Port Arthur and the Tasmanian National Park on 24 February 2023. Enjoy this brief introduction to the site. Its an amazing insight into how the British prison system worked at the time and how Austrailia was formed and peopled by Europeans.
Check out the history: https://portarthur.org.au/history/?fbclid=IwAR0hbsBxge3Poz1nbEeJ-1_4rIj_vMF1Yn-8JwU3_V0vvXwLeun4_rngA8s
Challow
A brief walk into Tasmanian National Park.... Stunning scenery.
The Tasman Arch
View of the Port Aurthur Guard Tower overlooking the main building
Port Arthur Main Building
The requisite Don T Selfie of Authenticity overlooking the Main Building
A basic cell.... less than 4' x 6' deep
Remnant of the Port Arthur hospital..... Conditions were brutal.....
Remnants of the church
View from the natural harbor onto the main building and site.
The Richmond Tasmania bridge..... built in 1834 by convict labor using convict harvested stones. Operational to this day - ~200 years later
Comments