Formed in 1830, Port Arthur was one of the lynchpins of the convict system in Van Diemen’s Land. From 1833 it operated as the sole penal station in the colony, taking prisoners convicted of additional offences. Though only a relatively small number of convicts passed through the station, its looming presence served as an effective check on the behaviour of thousands of convicts labouring in government gangs or in assignment throughout the colony. Port Arthur served as a representative of the British judicial system well beyond the end of transportation in 1853, its administration only taken over by the colony in 1871, followed by ultimate closure in 1877. Today the former station is a World Heritage-listed attraction, managed by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA).
We have undertaken many projects in collaboration with PAHSMA. Port Arthur was the focus for our 2017 ARC grant Landscapes of Production and Punishment, where we used many different archaeological methods to examine the cultural landscape of the Tasman Peninsula. We’ve also carried out large archaeological excavations, surveys, landscape reconstructions and analyses.