The archaeological investigations of the Penitentiary Workshops followed on from those of the Penitentiary Ablutions and Laundry Penitentiary Ablutions Excavations. As with the latter excavations, those of the workshops were tied to the ongoing research and interpretation of the Penitentiary precinct. The work was undertaken as a collaborative project between Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority and Richard Tuffin (Postdoctoral Fellow, University of New England).

The area to be investigated had been occupied from the very earliest days of convict settlement. Situated right on the original waterfront, a storehouse and blacksmith had been built in the area in 1830. By 1836 a range of timber workshops had been built, containing facilities for tailoring, shoemaking, carpentry and storage. A blacksmith was housed in a separate structure. This building occupied the site until 1854, at which time it was replaced by an entirely new range of shops. This housed a blacksmith and foundry, sawmill, steam engine, engineers’ workshops and stores. The structure remained on the site until the 1880s, at which time it was salvaged.

The excavations began in March 2020, a large 880m² area stripped of grass ready for investigation. Footings were visible just under the turf. However, within three weeks the site was shut down due to COVID and was not reopened until November. From that date until September 2021 a smaller area of 200m² focussing on the blacksmith and foundry was excavated by Richard Tuffin and Sylvana Szydzik.

Despite the restricted scope – and the near exhaustion of the two archaeologists involved – the excavation returned fascinating information. The early shoreline was found, confirming mapped evidence of Port Arthur’s original form, as well as an unidentified surface potentially marking one of the first structures ever built at the station. Large logs associated with shoreline reclamation were found, on top of which had been built the 1836 range of workshops. These had been built of timber, probably with timber floors. Hundreds of shoemakers tack nails were found in deposits associated with the 1830s shops.

The post-1854 conversion had really done a number on the early phases of works, with the construction of sandstone footings and surfaces erasing much evidence of the earlier workshops. An area for copper casting was located in the western half of the shop, with the main blacksmith forge and work area located in the eastern. Thick surfaces of charcoal, coal and metal fines were located around the location where the forge and anvil had been, the deposits compacted by men working at that location over the years.

Even the later salvage of the site was interesting. The building had been razed to the ground and all of the casting and smithing furniture removed. This left big holes across the site, in which was dumped detritus associated with the former blacksmith – including a broken anvil. When a bushfire had passed through soon after, the original log cribbing had caught fire, causing the whole site to slump.

As expected, the artefacts told an interesting story. Much metalworking debris – offcuts, casting and smithing waste from the copper, lead and iron worked in the shop. Some objects associated with the work – such as the anvil, blacksmiths’ tongs and files – were also found. Rather unexpectedly, a cache of 20 shillings was found squirreled away in the shop’s south western extent. It’s impossible to say how it got there, but could we be looking at some convict’s ill-gotten gains?

We have written a number of articles on the results of this project <Link: Publication – Articles >. As yet we are yet to write the book, but if you are interested in the excavation you can visit the excavation blog here: https://blog.une.edu.au/port-arthur-2020/.

The giant 382 page report is available through the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority.

Project personnel

David Roe (excavation director, PAHSMA)

Sylvana Szydzik (excavation director, post-excavation artefact curation)

Richard Tuffin (excavation director, reporting, mapping and illustrations)

E Jeanne Harris (artefact specialist [2016])

First phase excavation team (March 2020): James Donlon, Jessica Green, Nicolas Grguric, Elise Jakeman, Claire Rayer

PAHSMA staff: Jodie Green, John Hack, Gareath Plummer, Ted Plummer, Michael Smith, Caitlin Vertigan, Nicky Corbett

UNE staff and student: Prof Martin Gibbs, Caitlin D’Gluyas, Prof Lloyd Weeks, Emma Watt, David Roberts