Port Arthur - Port Arthur visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Port Arthur' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Tasmania.

Port Arthur, on the Tasman Peninsula of Tasmania, is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas. The open air museum in Port Arthur is officially Tasmania's top tourist attraction. Named after George Arthur, the port started as a r convict settlement and timber station in 1830. The most hardened and dangerous convicts were sent to Port Arthur, not only from Britain and Ireland, but also from other penal colonies around Australia.

The Port Arthur prison was modelled on a new design and system. Each wing radiated from a central surveillance core and Chapel, allowing clear view of each wing from the core. On the whole, psychological rather than physical punishments were used to maintain order, though whippings and corporal punishment still had a place. Good behaviour was rewarded with extra rations, luxury goods etc, while bad behaviour was penalised through loss of rations, a basic diet of bread and water etc. Escape from Port Arthur was notoriously difficult, but not impossible.

By the mid 1800s, Port Arthur was also being promoted as a tourist destination due to the natural beauty of the Tasmin Peninsula. The prison closed in 1877. Many of the prison buildings were torn down or burnt by fire in an attempt to distance the town, renamed Carnarvon, from the prison past of Port Arthur. However, tourism continued to flourish, as did visitors desires to visit the Port Arthur prison and the town reverted to it's former name. In 1979 funding was received to preserve this historically significant site. In 2010, the the Port Arthur Historic Site and the Coal Mines Historic Site were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage property.

Port Arthur suffered badly from the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996 when Martin Bryant went on a killing spree with a semi-automatic rifle, killing 35 and wounding a further 21 people. This event led to a national ban on semi-automatic shotguns and rifles and united the the town with Dunblane in Scotland which had suffered a similar fate earlier that year.

Port Arthur - Tourist Attractions

Today, Port Arthur receives over 250,000 visitors a year who come to see both the Historic Site and other attractions on the Tasman Peninsula. Some of the most important and popular sights in and around Port Arthur include:

• Penitentiary Chapel Museum - museum containing a history of the prison and artefacts found on the site.
• Isle of the Dead Cemetery - island in the harbour off Port Arthur on which are about 1,000 graves of convicts buried here between 1833 and 1877.
• Coal Mines Historic Site - Tasmania's first operational mine worked by convicts of Port Arthur, now a ruin with views over the harbour.
• Point Puer Boys' Prison - between 1834 and 1849 this served as 'home' to thousands of male children, some as young as 9, and renowned for harsh discipline.
Scorpion Rock Lookout - viewpoint above Port Arthur with panoramic views over the bay and town.
• Eaglehawk Neck - 400 metres long isthmus with stunning rock formations including a Tessellated Pavement, and other natural formations like the Tasman's Arch, the Blowhole and the Devil's Kitchen.
• Martin Cash's Lookout - Lookout at the top of the hill on Eaglehawk Neck named after Martin Cash, one of the few who managed to escape Port Arthur by swimming across the Neck.
• Tasman National Park - near to Port Arthur, full of natural wonders, beautiful beaches, boating and whale watching. There are camping options within the park.
• Bush Mill - historic timber mill with settlement displays and a steam railway.
• Remarkable Cave - south of Port Arthur accessible by a five hour (return) walk to Crescent Bay.
• Tasman Golf Course - popular golf course found just south of Port Arthur.
• Stewarts Bay State Reserve - containing a campground and BBQ points, next to the coast at Port Arthur.

Port Arthur can be visited in a day, but overnight stays on the peninsula re recommended. There is quality accommodation (four 4-star and two 3½-star, RACT rated) and camping facilities available.

Road: Port Arthur is a 90 minute drive from Hobart (A3)
Flight: Hobart International Airport.