SET OF 5 PORT ARTHUR HISTORIC SITE COLLECTORS TOKENS:
1. POINT PUER - Boys Prison
This prison was established by Lieutenant Govenor Arthur in 1834 for boys up to the age of 18 years. It was set up in an attempt to reform young boys by separating them from the adult prisoners at Port Arthur and providing them with opportunities to learn literacy and trade. The regime and conditions were very harsh but some boys did take advantage of the opportunity offered for a better life. It was closed in 1849.
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2. HISTORIC GHOST TOURS
Since the 1870’s countless sightings of apparitions and unexplained happenings have occurred at the Port Arthur Historic Site. It is believed that there is a mystical connection at Port Arthur leaving spirits or ghosts or lost souls who have been trapped in an area, unable to rest or unaware they have travelled from the physical world, to occupy the fabric of the historic buildings.
3. GUARDING PORT ARTHUR
One of Port Arthur’s most important archaeological discoveries was made in mid1980’s when in the vicinity of the Military Barracks’ retaining wall a small uniform button was found. The button provided clear evidence that the penal settlement had its own militia-style guard- or at the very least the prison guard or constabulary was issued with a uniform that was unique to the site.
4. CONVICTS
Between 1830- 1877 around 12,500 sentences were served by the convicts sent to Port Arthur for re-offending once they had arrived in Tasmania. Convicts were employed in a wide variety of trades and industries during their sentences in an effort to make the settlement as self sufficient as possible. They combination of isolation, hard labour and the use of leg irons and flogging as forms of punishment were aimed at discouraging inmates from re-offending.
5. ISLE OF THE DEAD
The Isle of the Dead (or Dead Island) became the burial place at Port Arthur during the 1830’s with the first known burial taking place in 1831 when Private Joseph Kerr was interred. The island was the final resting place for both convict and free, with the majority of convict graves remaining unmarked. The island continued to be used for burials until 1877.
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