Everything about The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station totally explained
The
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station was an early penal settlement in
Van Diemen's Land (now
Tasmania),
Australia.
Location and establishment
It was located on
Sarah Island, in the southern portion of
Macquarie Harbour, and was the first to be built in the colony, in
1822. It dealt with predominantly male convicts, though some women were also sent there. Though it only operated for eleven years before being closed in
1833, it achieved a reputation as one of the Australian colonies', if not the British Empire's, most notorious and harsh settlements.
Rationale for establishment
The Penal Station was set up for two central reasons - firstly, as a place where the worst convicts and those who had escaped from other settlements could be banished. The only means of access was through a narrow channel known as
Hell's Gates, which resulted in the deaths of many convicts before they even reached the settlement. As the island was separated from the mainland by treacherous seas, and then from the settled areas of the colony by mountainous wilderness, the odds of escape from Sarah Island were particularly poor. The surveyor who mapped out the site concluded that the chances of escape were "next to impossible". A tiny nearby island, Grummet Island, was used as a place of solitary confinement.
A considerable number attempted escape (see Escapes later in article) and bushranger
Matthew Brady was among a party that escaped to
Hobart in
1824 after tying up their overseer and seizing a boat. Convict
Alexander Pearce also managed to escape twice, both times cannabalising his fellow escapees.
Lieutenant-Governor
William Sorell, who was in charge of the colony at that time, was also determined that the new settlement be able to reimburse the government for their expense. In this way, many of the convicts at the site were employed in the shipbuilding industry, and for a time, it was the largest shipbuilding operation in the Australian colonies. Convicts were set the task of cutting down
Huon Pine trees, tying the logs together, and rafting down the river. Most of the convicts were forced to do this work in chains, and under the watchful eye of guards.
The heavily-forested island was cleared to provide the guards a better view of the convicts. A tall wall was then built along the windward side of the island to provide shelter for the shipyards from the
roaring forties blowing up the harbour.
The site proved unable to support itself in terms of food, and
malnutrition,
dysentery and
scurvy were rampant, particularly in the early years of the settlement. Living conditions were so crowded that it was claimed to be impossible for a convict to sleep on their back, and floggings were regular, with 9,100 lashes being given in
1823 alone.
Ergot was added to bread made in the bakehouse, so that it would turn mouldy quickly, thus preventing convicts from saving up their ration allowances. There was a reported case in
1824 where a prisoner killed another prisoner in order that he'd be executed, rather than face continued detention on the island. The island was later used for pining purposes, and was known by the
piners as Settlement Island, rather than Sarah Island, though it has since reverted to its original name.
Current conditions
The ruins of the settlement remain today as the
Sarah Island Historic Site —part of the larger
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area—though they're not as well preserved as those at the more well known
Port Arthur. The island is accessible via ferries and charter boats operating out of the town of
Strahan.
Environment
Earlier vegetation - in the booklet 'The People, Ship and Shipwrights' a guided tour by the Round Earth Company - has the following description:
All the trees were cleared 1822 apart from the Venerable old tree fern at the saw pits There were not the usual Dicksonia antarctica but Cythea australis which explains the unusual number of these ferns on the island
Sarah Island in literature
Sarah Island has been frequently featured in Australian literature and theatre, often representing the worst excesses of the British convict system.
Books include:
In
Strahan, the main port and town on the shores of
Macquarie Harbour today Australia's longest running play
The Ship that Never Was by Tasmanian author
Richard Davey dramatises the last escape from the island. His book
The Sarah Island Conspiracies - Being an account of twelve voyages to Macquarie Harbour and Sarah Island furthers understanding of the history and the recent archaeological work on the island.
Known Escapees
Include
Mordecai Cohen April 1823
George Hammersley and James Woodward 4th May 1824
John Graham, John Germanston, and John McCarthy 20th July 1825
Matthew Brady
Mark Jefferies
Alexander Pearce
The 10 shipwrights who stole the Frederick and sailed to Chile.Further Information
Get more info on 'Macquarie Harbour Penal Station'.
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