Convict labour landscapes, Port Arthur 1830-1877

Abstract

The data contained in this webmap was generated by the Landscapes of Production and Punishment: the Tasman Peninsula 1830-77 project, funded by the Australian Research Council (DP170103642, 2017-19) with support from the project’s industry partner, the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority. This project examined the convict system from the perspective of convicts as workers, using the buildings, work sites, products and life outcomes to understand their lives and labours whilst under sentence. The project focused on the convict places of the Tasman Peninsula (Tasmania, Australia), in particular the former penal settlement of Port Arthur (1830-77). Today Port Arthur is a premier tourist destination in Australia, and is one of the 11 places inscribed on the World Heritage List as the Australian Convict Sites. <br/> This mapping will prove invaluable for those visiting or researching the historic site, showing them where buildings and other infrastructure were situated in the landscape at any point between 1830 and 1877. Historic plans from the Tasmanian Archives have also been georeferenced to a number of areas at the site, providing an extra layer of information. Hundreds of offences committed by the convicts whilst they were at Port Arthur have similarly been referenced to the landscape, providing information on both the time and place where offences occurred. <br/> The mapping and offence data was originally compiled by Dr Richard Tuffin within a geographic information system, with Esk Mapping & GIS creating the web-mapping interface.