Tasmania had a sad start as a colony when the British decided to settle it as a penal colony for convicts. I just finished reading a book that I borrowed from Darryl that talks about this tragedy, For the Term of His Natural Life, detailing the horrid conditions on the convict ships and the desperate existence these men and women lived upon their arrival in Tas. While it shapes and colours the history of the place, it seems so far from the modern streets of Hobart, where fashion and eateries prevail. So safe and utopian is the place now that the excitement of a rebel convict in their heritage is a source of pride.
We then spent the rest of the day exploring viewpoints and a beach on the southern end of the Tasman Peninsula.
We spent the good part of the day at Port Arthur exploring the grounds, taking a harbour cruise and listening to a guide describe life in the area. We also observed the memorial from an event we were unaware of, but which almost all Australians know, when a madman decided to bring the misery of the past into the present. All in all Port Arthur proved to be an interesting place.
We then spent the rest of the day exploring viewpoints and a beach on the southern end of the Tasman Peninsula.
2 comments:
Sorry forgot to specifically mention Martin Bryant. I think because it was such a huge and tragic event here we tend to think that everone else knows about it.
No worries, I can see why people would want to put that event behind them.
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