Port Arthur
Port Arthur, Tasmania is one of Australia's great tourism destinations. Every building, every feature of Port Arthur Historic Site has a story to tell. Created with convict labour, the impressive architecture, delightful gardens and chilling prison facilities survive today for tourists to explore. At night, the Ghost tours run at Port Arthur have become the most popular in Australia.
The Port Arthur penal settlement began life as a small timber station in 1830, originally designed as a replacement for the recently closed timber camp at Birches Bay. In 1833 Tasmania's Port Arthur became a prison settlement for male convicts. Port Arthur quickly grew in importance within the penal system of the colonies. Because of the remoteness of the town the most violent and hardened criminals were sent to the Port Arthur Penitentiary.
Port Arthur Penitentiary quickly gained a reputation as a terrible place, hundreds of prisoners died in the first few years of its opening. Convicts were forced to work in chain gangs and act of disobedience resulted in the prisoners either being whipped or put into solitude, 100 lashes was the normal punishment for trying to escape. During the 1870's the convict population at the Penitentiary dwindled, those remaining behind were too old, infirm or insane to be of any use, so the prison was closed in 1877.
There have been so many reports of ghosts and paranormal activity at Port Arthur that they can't all be listed. American TV's Ghost Hunters International have recently visited Port Arthur there paranormal team found plenty of evidence of the sites historic ghosts, backing up the claims that this location is Australia's most haunted.
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