The penitentiary building at Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia.
From this position, each wing was clearly seen, although individual cells were not.
Here, physical punishment was replaced with psychological torture, such as denial of food and isolation.
Prisoners were kept hooded in the company of others and were not allowed to speak.
The lack of companionship drove many prisoners to madness.
Conveniently, an asylum was located nearby.
Inside the prison in Port Arthur.
Photo credit:Paul Carmona/Flickr
The Peninsula was rich in resources such as timber, stone, and coal.
Exploiting these resources of the land kept the convicts busy.
The human-powered transport is often described as Australias first railway.
Colorized from the original sketch by Colonel Mundy.
The rails of the tramway.
Photo credit:www.tasmanregion.com.au
Port Arthur was billed as inescapable, but that was no deterrent for some prisoners.
He received 150 lashes.
Successful escapes were few and far between.
Nearly everyone died inside the prison camps and was buried in unmarked graves at the Isle of the Dead.
Since the 1970s, the site is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
