Tales of colonial history remain carved into stone on the Tasman Peninsula. A heavy silence rings endlessly between solid brick walls and the cool murky waters of Carnarvon Bay beyond – shrouding the past in a thick blanket of mystery.
The Port Arthur penal settlement hides many stories of hardship, particularly surrounding solitary confinement. Silence and loneliness melded together to crush the human spirit, sometimes chasing it into a dark realm of madness. Convicts were left to languish for a month or more in quarters devoid of light, sound and human contact – a regime designed to impose the most intense form of social isolation and control.
One wonders where your mind would go in such conditions.
And would it return again safely?
Planning a visit? Explore the Port Arthur Historic Site here.