If anyone would like to back-track Australia's history, Port Arthur's historic site would be able to take on an indispensable role telling tales about its disturbing convict past! Started as a convict settlement, Port Arthur served as "the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts."
The Port Arthur penal station was initially built within British Empire where the convict labours were used to produce timbers for government's projects. In 1833, the first convict ship carrying about 200 British criminals docked in Port Arthur. Ever since then until 1853, it became the destination for those hardest British criminals, those who re-offended laws after arriving at Australia, and those who were rebellious in other penal stations. Because Port Arthur was best known for its strictest security system among British penal stations.
Over those years, the criminals varied at different age groups with the youngest boy only at 9. All of them were allocated to different labour task forces, such as quarry gang, timber gang, chain gang, blacksmith and shoemakers, according what they were capable of and how serious a crime they committed. At that time, a British prison reformer Jeremy Bentham invented a radical new penitentiary in England so-called "A machine for grinding rogues into honest men". This machine consisted of disciplines and punishment, religious and moral instruction, classification and separation.
This reform was adopted by Port Arthur's penal station as a model to shift from physically punishing the convicts to psychologically punishment, because it was believed that the corporal punishment only could harden up the criminals rather than rehabilitate them. Then, food, sugars, tea and tobacco were served as rewards to reinforce positive behaviours, otherwise, minimal food and water were given to punish the ill behaviours. Under the punishment system, "a silent system" was implemented as well in which the troublemakers were hooded and isolated, assuming they were taking time to reflect on their wrongdoings.
Over years, some prisoners came out psychologically broken, but many of them left Port Arthur rehabilitated and expert in shoemaking, building and blacksmithing, which enabled them to make a perfect living in the communities.
In 1840s-1850s, the growing dissatisfaction with the transportation system loomed large both in Britain and locally, in addition, the gold rush sounded the death-knell for the convict transportation as well. Even though, by the end of convict transportation in 1853, Port Arthur had become a main industrial settlement, in which a range of goods and materials were produced by the convicts--everything from worked stone, bricks, clothing, boats and ships, this penal settlement was eventually closed in 1877 after Tasmanian government took over the control of Port Arthur from British counterpart. However, by this time, many of its buildings were dismantled or ruined by bush fires. The other sites were sold and gradually turned into a small town and renamed Carnarvon by some social dignitaries in an attempt to erase its convict past.
However, this convict history and penal settlement turned out to be a major drawcard for this town's flourish and fame when the tourists started flowing in to learn its settlement history. So, by 1920s, some convict-period building were transformed to museums, hotels and shops, and this settlement was changed back to its original name--Port Arthur to protect its national and international historical significance.
Note: Van Diemen's Land--Was referring to Tasmania Island in settlement period |
楼主: yping88
发表于 24-3-2015 13:29:16
楼主
发表于 14-4-2015 10:05:30
