Convict Brickmaking at Port Arthur: 1830-1877

Abstract

During the mid-nineteenth century, the convict penal settlement of Port Arthur (1830-1877) represented one of the larger and more complex industrial operations in the colony of Van Diemen's Land. Here, multiple industries — ranging from primary resource extraction through to complex manufacturing — were carried out concurrently. The output of the convicts' labour not only supplied the needs of the settlement, but also met demand from the wider convict system and the free community. A constant reminder of the scale and durability of this production can be found across the present landscape of the Port Arthur Historic Site (PAHS) in the form of bricks. Incorporated into structures which represent the whole span of the settlement's existence, bricks are an utterly ubiquitous presence on the site. Yet in their form and function we are provided with a superb opportunity for considering the nature of Port Arthur's penal industrial operation. This article examines bricks as industrial artefact, using archaeological methods to derive understanding of how they were made and used. Combined with historical analysis, this will be used to discuss how convict labour was deployed and how the needs of industry were mapped onto those of penal management.