Tasmania Tour - Part 4. Port Arthur
Well here I am at Port Arthur walking up a track lined with lovely oak trees beautiful big old oak trees I thought I would start up this end where there are a bunch of buildings all the tour people have gone that way so what have we got here obviously a church kind of looks like a castle ah churches they always find the most well-positioned land don't you think what we just walked through then was government cottage these are the gardens of course the government cottage and church gardens I imagine a lot of croquet played on those lawns well to do elite picnics probably served by convicts of course I may or may not make up a little bit of my own history as I go along kind of like Quentin Tarantino just rewrite a bit of history for the hell of it forest behind government house and the church a wise convict might want to disappear into there let's go back through the church can you imagine the stained glass that would have been in here ah they just don't build things like they used to hmm I wonder if I could pick the apple trees it's probably stealing I'll probably get sent to Van Diemen's land for that Old Boothie looks like a hard ass That's a deep long hole quite modern Not really sure if I'm supposed to be going this way but I'm in a new building now and it looks closed this building was the accountant's house this is well before blockchain technology this ledger keeper could easily fudge the books moving on all right what's this little building all about What I do love about old construction is stone slab flooring although these are all bricks I love stone flooring real stone not sure what this little building is almost looks stably like stables look at that beautiful big pine tree I know it doesn't have a lot to do with the convict history although this tree could be as old as that it's just a beautiful pine tree I'm loving the long wheelbase golf carts gotta have one of those in my future make it a panel van or a wagon Just going to take a breather here on a park bench snack on an apple I just took from the post office apple tree in the front yard someone's got to eat them there's a whole orchard down there my goodness golden delicious I think Mmm So we're about to enter Charlotte Lempriere's house who had 12 children and was known as a wonderful pianist who probably entertained many people Grand timber archway entrance Charlotte's sitting room and there's her piano where she probably entertained many a guest with her vast repertoire of the classics and her writing desk for when she would write back home to divulge the conditions of the colonies over here we have the grand dining room where Charlotte entertained many dignitaries and noble guests apparently she only had one servant and she was quite active in the freedom movement for convicts and women and helped very much with uh pregnant women so for a woman who had 12 children and only one servant she obviously did a lot of work herself possibly a guest bedroom I would say or obviously family members 12 kids there was probably eight of them in this room that looks like they're a little privy maybe could be wrong there's a bedpan fill that with coals and put it in your bed kind of like the old-fashioned hot water bottle I believe this would be Charlotte's room where she probably still had to share her bed with her not only her husband but probably a couple of the two youngest a beautiful old timber table desk what have we got out the back courtyard all the children would spend hours with their hacky sacks and leather balls up against the stone wall well it looks like a dining hall of some kind I love this timber walkway covered walkway here beautiful moving on A house for a cow. Rations were strictly monitored not only for the convicts but for everyone living and working at Port Arthur however some of the more senior staff often had luxuries that others were not permitted. The dairy and Government farm did not commence operation until 1859 prior to that people such as medical officers as the medical officer were able to keep a dairy cow of their own. In 1857 a plan of the outbuildings in this courtyard shows that this space was designated cow house the healthy quality of cow's milk was noted by many of the settlements doctors and prescribed in the daily diet of hospital patients and invalids. And here is the cow house. Yes many a metal cow was brought over on the ships from England to service the colonists although the milk did leave a bit of a metallic aftertaste look at this beautiful stone slab floor I love stone slab flooring can you imagine if I found a property old enough that had a structure on it that had stone slab flooring oh that'd be wonderful poison must be big rats in here Hey little birdie you're stuck you want to go out that way let's see if we can get you out there you go go down go down little fella I've made a gap for you come on down you go look I've made a gap for you come on come on come on I've made a gap for you come on come on come on come on let's go there you go little fella let's not have these convict window slam down on me The irony is not lost on me I just freed a bird that bird is free from Port Arthur Oh very dungeon-esque down here Hello skink well looks like a basement of some kind Okay we're about to get into some serious business now the penitentiary and the asylum and separate prison this is an example of what we can expect of the asylum probably just a creative soul who was misunderstood Port Arthur elk A Sri Lankan elk imported by the Tasmanian acclimatization society the elk had been taken to Slopen Island off the Tasman Peninsula but it escaped and swam across the channel to the coal mines there it is there in the distance I don't know if you can see it but it's a metal elk so that was a good job swimming across the channel to the coal mines they imported a lot of metal animals mainly because of the sturdy construction of these animals that they could do the hard work of the colonies I know I'm just getting stupid now but Soldiers memorial avenue the beautiful style of pine tree here the Perpetual Remembrance Originally transported to new south wales in 1837 John Quigley received a life sentence in 1843 for having firearms in his possession after time at Port Arthur and Norfolk Island Quigley was charged with armed robbery and attempted murder and subsequently declared a dangerous lunatic he was again sent to Port Arthur where he was imprisoned in a padded cell in a separate prison and given a special exercise yard covered over to prevent his escape this became known as Quigley's cage I believe that's what this structure here was this round structure just outside of the penitentiary walls life sentence for having firearms in his possession hmm it's almost applicable to current times Nobby the horse. In the early days of Port Arthur the heavy task of delivering water throughout the
settlement was carried out by convicts however when the settlement was nearing closure most of the remaining convicts were old or infirm so other methods of getting the heavy work done had to be found. Nobby was a workhorse that lived in Port Arthur during the 1870s he was most likely housed in the stables at Government farm at night and during the day he worked hard pulling a cart and delivering water to the civil officers homes. We know of Nobby as he died in the line of duty and the Commandant reported his death to the colonial secretary And there is Nobby A hearty steel horse common theme for animals brought to the colonies they needed to be hardy. On a steel horse I ride Someone's nice little abode I think that was a convict basketball ring one hour every day exercise that's a sturdy lock ah glorious sunshine for an hour Looks like a courthouse She was heard to have uttered that I must dance Ne'er-do-wells every single one of them Ha ha whippersnappers Just a bunch of likely lads That's breakfast and supper not a lot of difference Pretty sure I've got one of those spoons Fashion of the day That compass will take you where you want to go Okay the hospital The Copper's place hospital overlooking the asylum That is a bird's nest The hospital high on hill Smith O'Brien's cottage my apartments are cheerful and airy their position is elevated and healthy I have been supplied with a bookcase and cupboard and four tables a washing stand four chairs and very hard seats being such as are used in kitchens in Ireland Nice cottage this one commanding views Little room in there don't know if you can see it and it's locked what is that a harp? lovely cottage though nice bushy backyard nice little veranda and a view over all of the settlement So this is the main prison right at the harbour pretty much off the boat and straight in Okay the military barracks A Dutch door I do love a Dutch door Now it's time to look at the main prison Obviously all these individual stone areas wall in between each of those foundations these are all cell blocks obviously same there and two or three levels of it I'm assuming exercise yard Ablutions area A final look at the main prison and that was the hospital up there behind it which you wouldn't have seen back in the day unless I went further back The harbour any fish? there we go look at those fish we have to zoom in let's see if i can get close to them without them scattering away there they go and that is it for me Hopefully you can zoom in on that and watch that seagull dive in and pick up that fish Nice little jetty here little dock So here's my guy the card I was given to find out a little bit more about this person I guess it represents me in a way let's find out Daniel Nightingale age 27 of Darlaston Staffordshire England his trade was a screw forger and blacksmith laborer Well we're tradesman we've got that in common and I have taken a little bit of time off work every now and then but that's because I'm self-employed I can do whatever I want but I've never been a slave to the man So yeah there we go this pretty much concludes my time at Port Harbour at Port Arthur Well that's Port Arthur done and dusted I'm just warming up the car getting ready to head up the east coast now Coles Bay conservation area basically Freycinet so that's where I'm headed heading up the coast now to find a pre-camp up to the Freycinet Peninsula
2021-05-21 09:17
