The ruined Penitentiary at Port Arthur, Tasmania

I thought i would feature an out of town photo, this one being the ruins of the Port Arthur Hospital which was ruinined in a bushfire in 1895 (I think)

Rules for Prisoners in the Seperate Prison, Port Arthur

Well, a final shot of Port Arthur in this series as it is time to move to a new setting for a new series of photos from tomorrow.

A shot few of the prisoners of the Seperate Prison would have seen with any comfort, the outside of the Chapel of the Seperate Prison at Port Arthur. As i mentioned in my earlier post on the Seperate Prison, religion was considered a major part of the reform process and other than exercise, the services in the chapel were one of the few times convicts were allowed out of their cell.

I have shots with and without the window frame but liked it better with. Today’s shot is from one of the windows of the Hospital at Port Arthur which shows a few different buildings from left to right, part of the Paupers Mess, The Museum (formerly the Asylum) and the Seperate Prison.

Today’s photo is from inside the Seperate Prison. When it was built new ideas were being considered in reforming prisoners. It was considered that physical punishment only hardened a man but in an atmosphere of quiet and order the man could consider his sin and change his life. To achieve this a new type of prison was needed. The architecture and practices of the Seperate Prison were based on those of Pentonville Prison in Britain. But at Port Arthur the cells were smaller and for any misdemeanour there were special punishment cells where the man would be locked in total darkness and silence for times ranging between several hours and 30 days on bread and water. Not much of a comfort but after three days they were allowed out for an hour every day for exercise.

Each new arrival when they entered the prison was allocated a number and their name was no longer used. He was allowed to communicate only with staff and spent 23 hours a day in his cell with his time out of his cell spent on cleaning duty or at services in the chapel. The corridors were laid with mats and guards worse slippers so they could hear his every sound and they checked on each prisoner constantly through a peep hole in his cell door. Even in the chapel he had no contact with other prisoners as they were each held in an individual booth and watched over by armed guards.

Todays shot is of the worn steps outside the Commandants House at Port Arthur. I can only wonder how many sets of feet have walked up these!