News

Family Activities

Family activities at the Education Centre


3rd -11th April

The PAHSMA Education Centre, in the Accountant's House near the Church, will be a hive of activity. From Easter Saturday to the following Sunday week, the Education Centre will host a range of engaging and fun family activities.

Convict Brick Making, Peg Doll Making, Fantascopes (“what are those?” you ask! You will have to join us to find out!), the Story Blanket and Knowledge Treasure Hunt will be happening over the Easter period.  

No need to book – just sign up on the day at the Accountant’s House!

The details of each session will be available closer to Easter and can be found on our website and via our Visitor Centre.

Two sessions daily - 11.00am-12.00pm and 1.00pm to 2.00pm

 

Exhibition by the Peninsula Art Group


1-8 April

The Tasman Peninsula has a thriving group of well known local artists. The Peninsula Art Group is proud to present an exhibition of some of their latest paintings. This is an ideal opportunity to view and acquire an original artwork from Tasmania.

All works are for sale and entry is included in the cost of entry to the Site.

Open 11am to 3pm daily at the Museum Café



History Plays

Port Arthur History Plays return for Easter

A Boy's Life - one of three history plays to be performed at Port Arthur Historic Site this Easter

A Boy's Life - one of three history plays to be performed at Port Arthur Historic Site this Easter

BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE

The much-loved series of plays that graced Port Arthur over summer will return for the Easter week. The plays depict and interpret Port Arthur’s history in an engaging and entertaining way, and are ideal for the whole family. They will each be performed twice daily from Good Friday (April 2nd) until Friday April 9th, 2010.

The Man Who Threw a Stone by Richard Davey, is based on the story of Port Arthur convict Dennis Collins who, as an old man, found that a hunger strike was the only form of protest available to him. As his life ebbs away, the play follows the desperate attempts of Charlotte Lempriere to save him.

Performed in the Separate Prison 11.45am & 2.45pm. Please be seated early as the Prison will close 2 minutes prior to performance to enable a prompt start.

The Shingle Strike by David Young tells the story of Irish poet Francis Macnamara’s endeavour to overcome the bullying tactics of an unscrupulous overseer. The convicts’ only hope of resistance and justice is to strike, but can Macnamara persuade his gang to join him?

Performed behind the Penitentiary at 12.30pm and 4.15pm (weather permitting)

A Boy’s Life by Les Winspear, tells the story of a London urchin who is sent across the world to Point Puer, where he is offered an opportunity for a new life. However he fi nds that this new life comes at a price he is not prepared to pay, so he chooses instead to continue his life of crime.

Performed behind the Penitentiary 1.15pm and 3.30pm (weather permitting)

The plays, which run approximately 20 minutes each, are produced and directed by Alan Andrews and performed by Alan with Emesha Rudolf, Rowan Harris and Alex Hardaker.

Visitors can also experience a range of colonial family pastimes, being presented daily over Easter at the Accountants House from 11.30am-3.30pm.

The plays and activities are included in the cost of admission to the Site.

Bookings and inquiries 1800 659 101




Port Arthur Talks

Port Arthur Talks



The Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority presents this semi-regular series of talks by authoritative speakers on a variety of topics, ranging from history and conservation to environmental issues, research results, study tours and much more.

 

The talks are held every couple of months at the Port Arthur Historic Site, are free of charge and open to anyone who is interested in the topic. Rich and varied subjects and speakers make for fascinating listening and discussion.

 


Wednesday 24 March, 2010

 

The transported children of convict mothers

presented by Professor Lucy Frost


Women who boarded convict transports to begin the voyage to Australia often carried infants with them or watched as their children clamoured up the sides of ships docked in London or the Irish ports. These children of convict mothers posed a conundrum for policy makers. They were not prisoners, and there was no reason to punish them. Some children sailed, and some remained behind to suffer the traumatic loss of a parent they were unlikely ever to see again.  This paper suggests that the children who sailed represent an identifiable category of transportees, and by piecing together individual stories, the paper considers the experience of these children in Van Diemen’s Land.

 

Lucy Frost is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Tasmania.  She has long been interested in the experiences of women who came to Australia during the nineteenth century, and has published widely on the subject.  Since coming to Tasmania, she has become particularly interested in the experiences of the convict women, and is a member of the Board of the Female Factory Historic Site, and co-convenor of its Research Group.

 

ALL WELCOME!

5.30pm at the Junior Medical Officer’s Conference Room, Port Arthur Historic Site

 

Download a handbill here 

 

 


Tuesday 18 May, 2010

 

In conjunction with National Archaeology Week:

 

The rise of the township of Carnarvon

presented by Annita Waghorn


 

The development of the township of Carnarvon is a fascinating part of Port Arthur’s history.  This presentation will consider the development of the township and the Historic Site’s history during the 20th century, drawing on evidence from the archaeological excavations of the Carnarvon municipal rubbish dump.

 

Annita Waghorn is an archaeologist for the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority.  She has a Bachelor of Arts (Archaeology) and a Master’s degree in Cultural Resource Management.  She has worked extensively in Australia and the U.S. on historical archaeological projects.

 

ALL WELCOME!  

Tuesday 18 May 2010 at 5.30 p.m.

5.30pm at the Junior Medical Officer’s Conference Room, Port Arthur Historic Site

 

Please RSVP if you wish to attend - call 6251 2324

 

Download a handbill here

 

 

 

Wednesday 26 May, 2010

 

In conjunction with the Tasmanian Heritage Festival:

 

Paradise lost? An overview of the heritage of the Tasmanian apple industry


presented by Anne McConnell

 

With the loss of markets and the Tree Pull Scheme in the latter part of the 20th century, large numbers of commercial apple orchards were grubbed out and much of the infrastructure of this industry fell into disuse. 

 

Because of the historical importance of the apple industry to Tasmania, historian, Nathalie Servant, and archaeologist, Anne McConnell were engaged in the mid-late 1990s to carry out a National Estate Grants Program study of the history and heritage of the Tasmanian apple industry for the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery.

 

Anne McConnell looks at the heritage findings from this study, both the apple industry heritage that was identified and the management issues associated with preserving this heritage. She also discusses the apple industry heritage of the Tasman Peninsula, one of the thirteen apple growing districts in Tasmania.

 

Anne McConnell is an archaeologist and has worked in cultural heritage for 30 years, including as Senior Archaeologist for Forestry Tasmania, and since as a consultant in cultural heritage management, archaeology and Quaternary geoscience.

 

ALL WELCOME!

Wednesday 26 May 2010 at 5.30pm

Junior Medical Officer’s Conference Room, Port Arthur Historic Site

 

Please RSVP if you wish to attend - call 6251 2324

 

Download a handbill here

 

 

For more information about our Port Arthur Talks, please phone +61 (0)3 6251 2324.