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Abandon All Hope

Port Arthur prison block, Tasmania.

One of the first things that struck me whilst touring the prison was the biting wind, even though it was a summer day. The cell blocks had open windows with only bars across them. It beggars belief that anyone could survive in there in winter!

Escape was virtually impossible but some prisoners were not discouraged by this, and tried to escape. Martin Cash successfully escaped along with two others. One of the most infamous incidents, simply for its bizarreness, was the escape attempt of one George “Billy” Hunt. Hunt disguised himself using a kangaroo hide and tried to flee across the Neck, but the half-starved guards on duty tried to shoot him to supplement their meagre rations. When he noticed them sighting him up, Hunt threw off his disguise and surrendered, subsequently receiving 150 lashes.

As I stepped out of the block on a fairly bright summer day, the sky darkened, the wind increased, and it began to rain. This atmosphere, that I hope that I have captured here, added to how I felt regarding the misery, hardship, and deprivation, that the convicts had to endure