Showcase-Sunday: Port Arthur - A walk through darkness

in #showcase-sunday5 years ago

The State of Tasmania is one of Australia's most beautiful locations. It lies south of the mainland and is the only Australian State not actually attached to the rest of the country. we, the other part of Australia often make jokes at Tasmanian's expense, Aussie's can be quite irreverent, but we love them like the weird brothers and sisters they are. 😂 src

Tasmania, (Tassie), is literally full of stunning wilderness, quaint towns and villages and is a perfect example of the diversity one finds in Australia. It's a superb place to spend a couple of weeks and my wife and I have just booked another trip there for my 50th birthday next year in 2020 - I know right? I hardly look a day over 49! We have been there before but want to spend some more time exploring as it's such a lovely place.

Tasmania has a dark past though, and lives in infamy for a few reasons dating back into the early 1800's and more recently too.

In the early 1800's the penal colony of Port Arthur was established. It was one of the harshest penal colonies run by the British Empire and about 40% of all the convicts transported to Australia by the British were sent to Port Arthur; That's a total of 65,000 convicts.

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It was brutally hard for the convicts, whose trials and tribulations often began during the long journey from England, and conditions were only a little better than their British captors, there to guard them - They weren't brutalised by their captors of course.

Many convicts perished due to starvation, exposure to the elements, illness, which was rife, and of course brutal bashings, rapes, hanging and flogging for transgressions real or perceived. Life was extremely harsh for the inmates, many of whom were convicted to transportation for merely stealing a loaf of bread back in England. It's easy to expect the inmates to be completely disgruntled and despondent. And they were.

I had two ancestors transported there in the early 1800's, both of whom had been handed the death sentence back in England for petty crimes, only to have that sentence commuted to transportation at the last minute. One was female, a maid, and the other a man. Both did 20 years there, and survived.

I have been to Port Arthur. We spent a whole day there wandering, learning about it and discovering places like the asylum, the medical section, the quarters (cells) and Isle of the Dead cemetery and so on. It was incredibly interesting and a little confronting.

We also did a night tour. They actually call it the ghost tour which was somewhat unnerving. To be honest I was not overly keen on the night tour however we felt it was necessary to truly understand the place, the tragedy and sorrow that seems impregnated in the very stones that make up the buildings, as if the sorrow and misery has seeped into the rock itself. I was less interested when the guide suggested I carry the lantern and bring up the rear. (There was a lantern at the front of the tour, one in the middle and one at the back as we went from building to building. It was pitch black except for the feeble lantern-light and I was feeling quite exposed I guess.) It's a very eerie place in the day time, but at night? Downright scary.

I didn't see any ghosts however many actually do. I felt something though; I can't explain it but it was definitely not of my imagination. It freaked me out a little. It was a feeling of deep sorrow or misery, an oppressive feeling that I didn't like one little bit.

There are many photographs at the entrance to the tourist centre that previous tourists have sent in and we studied them for a while. They depict ghostly images, shapes and shadows things that seem out of place in the photos...Unexplained things. Again, we saw nothing but the feeling was unmistakable...I'm not one to feel uncomfortable in the dark either so...Yeah, I don't know.

Earlier in the day we were following the written guide-booklet and visiting each building one by one; Some are still completely intact, one such being the asylum. This is where prisoners were taken, or held, when their mental state was questionable, which occurred a lot of course. I also believe people were incarcerated there if they got angry, had a fight with an inmate or a guard simply didn't like them. Port Arthur was that sort of place.

I can't explain why, however I was not able to remain in the building for long. I mean I was in there and wandering around for a couple of minutes when something came over me and I just walked out. Fast. They have cells int here and I walked into one and it felt...Odd.

It was...Oppressive, dark and brooding. I felt a definite malevolence exuding from the walls weighing down on me, pushing me down, almost physically it seemed. I don't really have the words to describe it unfortunately, other than to say I was not wanted there. Maybe others have felt it too, I don't know. I certainly didn't go back in or on the night tour either.

On the tour the guide relates stories from back in the day, of life there, of break-out attempts, fights that ended in death, punishments that were barbaric in nature and brutally administered and also of life there for guards and their families who also resided there. It's very interesting.

My ancestors both did 20 years before being released and making their way back to mainland Australia - Getting back to England was beyond their ability of course, financially. As I said, one was female. I can only imagine the hardships faced by male inmates but for a female convict it must have been shockingly brutal. I'd like to think she didn't suffer, but in reality she was probably brutally and cruelly debased. All because she stole a silver spoon from her employer in England winning her the death sentence and eventual transportation to Port Arthur when her sentence was commuted. Seems unreal doesn't it?



Located in a garden area at Port Arthur is a small monument laid down quite recently. You will not hear it referred to by the guides and it's considered impolite to ask about it.

You see, Port Arthur's brutal history didn't end with the closing of the penal colony in about 1877.

On April 28-29 1996 an individual called Martin Bryant went on a shooting spree leaving 35 dead and 23 injured. Men, women and children of all ages. This gunman was indiscriminate. Martin Bryant had killed people at another location that morning and after traveling to Port Arthur he paid his entry fee and proceeded to the cafe as many others do.

He ordered and ate his meal then calmly pulled out his guns and started shooting from the hip. In the cafe and gift shop area Bryant fired 29 rounds in just under 2 minutes, killed 22 people and injured 12. He moved to the carpark, his grizzly work still incomplete.

He shot people who had taken shelter behind tour buses, even coming back to shoot a lady in the back who he had only previously wounded. He went onto a bus and shot another lady twice, calmly and with no hint of emotion. She died later. He left the car park and continued to the toll booth.

Here he found a woman running, carrying a child with her other daughter running slightly ahead. The children were 3 (Madeline) and 6 (Alannah). He pulled the car he was driving up to a stop and the mother (Nanette) stopped also, thinking it was someone offering them a hand. Shelter maybe.

He got out of the car, put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her to her knees. She pleaded, "please don't hurt my babies."

He put his gun to her temple and fired. Dead. He fatally shot Madeline in the chest right there and shot twice at Alannah who was running to hide behind a nearby tree. He followed, placed his gun to her neck and fatally shot her also. This was all witnessed by other's who were hiding a short distance away which is why we know what Nanette said as she implored for mercy for her children.

Martin Bryant was captured the next day. I would have stabbed him in the neck with a blunt instrument if it was me who caught him but...

On the 22nd of November Bryant was sentenced to 35 life sentences with no chance for parole. He was incarcerated in Risdon Prison, in solitary confinement. He is allowed no visitors besides immediate family. (I would allow him no visitors at all...No light either. But that's just me.)

I wonder what it takes for an individual to do something like this? It was an event that changed Australia forever. Many conspiracy theories have circulated about there being two other shooters and anti-gun lobby groups had a field day of course. Those assholes love it when gun-massacre's occur as it supports their, often clueless, case. The government were forced to make amendments to gun laws, which they did; There was a gun buy-back scheme where newly prohibited firearms were purchased and destroyed by the government. The event has quite naturally seen many contentious and bitter debates raging back and forth. None of which I have, or will engage in.

No matter what side of the gun debate a person is on, or what conspiracy one subscribes to though, I think a moment must be given to recall the victims:

Winifred Joyce Aplin, 58
Walter John Bennett, 66
Nicole Louise Burgess, 17
Sou Leng Chung, 32
Elva Rhonda Gaylard, 48
Zoe Anne Hall, 28
Elizabeth Jayne Howard, 26
Mary Elizabeth Howard, 57
Mervyn John Howard, 55
Ronald Noel Jary, 71
Tony Vadivelu Kistan, 51
Leslie Dennis Lever, 53
Sarah Kate Loughton, 15
David Martin, 72
Noelene Joyce Martin, 69
Pauline Virjeana Masters, 49
Alannah Louise Mikac, 6
Madeline Grace Mikac, 3
Nanette Patricia Mikac, 36
Andrew Bruce Mills, 39
Peter Brenton Nash, 32
Gwenda Joan Neander, 67
Moh Yee William Ng, 48
Anthony Nightingale, 44
Mary Rose Nixon, 60
Glenn Roy Pears, 35
Russell James Pollard, 72
Janette Kathleen Quin, 50
Helene Maria Salzmann, 50
Robert Graham Salzmann, 57
Kate Elizabeth Scott, 21
Kevin Vincent Sharp, 68
Raymond John Sharp, 67
Royce William Thompson, 59
Jason Bernard Winter, 29

May they rest in peace

I urge all Australian's to visit Port Arthur. It is a history lesson we should all know and understand. From brutal penal colony to site of Australia's largest gun-massacre there are lessons for us all.

Thanks for reading. I know this post is pretty depressing but we cannot forget the past and what happened here. To do so would be to disrespect the memory of those who gave their lives.


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The original post was written and posted by me in August 2017. This post has been reworked, with several hundred words added, and reposted for the @nonameslefttouse #showcase-sunday concept.

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I learned something new today. Thanks.

You're very welcome. Thanks for reading and I'm glad it was something new to you. I also appreciate your comment here. 🙂

Mate, I felt the same when I was there. It is a very eerie place. I felt same at Aushwitz. Psychic georgraphy. Crazy your ancestors were transported there. How are they related? You call her 'female'. Not a great grandparent?

There must be so many ghosts in Tasmania. We certainly have a dark history.

A great great great aunt or some such...Could not tell you accurately as I'm not in front of my family tree. Just boarded a plane.

Been there a few times and I was only there two weeks before the massacre I had returned home to Queensland and it was on the news. My understanding is the massacre was a staged event to disarm Australia a very sick thing to do.

Agreed, especially considering I lost several guns in the buyback. If it was orchestrated for that reason it's a pretty sick thing to do.

Close call. It was a horrendous event.

Indeed.

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Man, what a place, I'd love to visit there. So most of the penal colony was at Tasmania, Port Arthur? It sounds like England was incredibly harsh on any kind of crime, even if it was minor, what's up with that? Did anyone ever escape?

If I ever make it that way I gotta go there. Lots of spiritual activity still going on that's for sure, that doesn't bother me though.

You make it to Aus mate, and I'll go there with you.

Yes, they were very tough back then. Stealing a load of bread may end up with the thief losing a hand. It was different times I guess.

Port Arthur was the penal colony, yes. Convicts went elsewhere of course, but mainly there. There were escapes but due to the dense and inhospitable terrain surround it they either died of exposure of were recaptured quickly - Gave themselves up sometimes too. They were either hanged of beat severely as a deterrent for the the others.

It's a pretty cool place to see, has a lot of secrets and a deep history. Rarely did good things happen there.

Very interesting indeed. I love places like that and it's cool that they have preserved it..I assume in it's original condition? It probably sat vacant for decades?

It was closed in 1877 and has not been used for anything since, except the tourist attraction/museum.

That was quite the harrowing read. Thank you for listing the victims, who would probably go largely unmentioned with this post. I hope the rest of your time in Tasmania is as informative but far more welcoming / relaxing.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting @shaidon :)

No problems at all. Both you and your wife were missed at the Christmas party / BBQ yesterday.
It was a great day too.

Yes, I knew it was yesterday but my brother's grad had to take priority. I hope it was a good day.

Of course.The day was fantastic. :)

Glad to hear it. I've just boarded. Homeward bound.

@galenkp, Cover picture in a way is reflecting as, we are about to enter into the World Of Magic and Invisible Forces Land. And good to see that you've took this series to depth. Stay blessed.

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Hey there, thanks for stopping by and thanks for commenting. All the best.

Welcome and thank you so much.

Ooft, I didn't know about either of these things. Grim. Will never even get close to understanding the nuggets who go on killing sprees

I know right? I don't get it either...Tragic. interesting place to visit though.

Hi @galenkp, your post has been upvoted by @bdcommunity courtesy of @hafizullah!


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Uugghhh, yes, dark indeed :(
I am curious about your feeling in that particular building how you wrote that you were not wanted there rather than, maybe being wanted as it seems spirits are said to want to attach themselves to living people?
I've also experienced dark places and have gotten the sense that very terrible things have happened in particular places.

The feeling was one of malevolence...It's difficult to explain I guess, here anyway. Maybe in person I'd have a better chance. Still, I don't talk about it with people in real life so that's unlikely to happen. :)

Thanks for reading and commenting.

I guess it really doesn't matter either way, I just found myself very curious by that feeling of it telling you to get away.
Now, I'm curious again, why don't you talk about it with people in person? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, really, it's none of my business.
I'm intrigued by your picture of the mature forests and description of the small town area, but then felt repelled by the Arthur place and especially by the terrible shootings :(

Now, I'm curious again, why don't you talk about it with people in person? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, really, it's none of my business

I'm reasonably private in real life, have a small friends group and only share what I feel comfortable sharing. I'm not too comfortable with the supernatural despite my wife seeing things that can't be explained any other way...All the time. I have not written about that here as I don't want people to think I'm weird, or she is, although I will at some stage.

I guess I close myself off to that sort of thing a little and so it feels quite uncomfortable to open up about it. We will be heading there again in March 2020 and maybe this time I'll have more to say on it...Certainly some pictures from there...Unfortunately the last time I went my camera was...Quality challenged.

Yes, the shooting there was terrible. I'm a gun owner and am very comfortable with guns and what they can do (if a human is behind it) but I imagine for those that are not it may leave one feeling disturbed and unnerved...As it does me too I guess really.

Tasmania is a beautiful place though, and as human's I feel it is important to understand and acknowledge the past rather than sweep it away...As happens most often.

I'll post from Tasmania in March 2020, so I hope you follow along. I'll even photograph the inside of the Asylum A Port Arthur

I understand being private about some things. Probably a good idea as not everything is to be shared.
I don't own a gun, but many of my family members do and although I might be revealing more here than I'd like (such a hot topic), I am not anti-gun though as a teacher and parent and human being, I am shaken by the spate of mass shootings. My eldest son is very much into shooting in competitions.


I hope your trip is lovely and have a very happy 50th, I just reached that milestone myself :)

Too much oversharing on the interwebs.

I have many guns and shoot a lot. I shoot IPSC which is similar to what your son shoots. This is a video of a guy in the State Team from my State (South Australia)

I understand that many don't like guns. I'm not one of those people who only talk about guns. I have other hobbies and in fact rarely talk about guns with people here, even my mates who have them. It's just a hobby for me and I'm more likely to talk about building Lego, hiking, off-roading or a book Ive just read to be honest. I never engage in the anti/pro gun debate. It's a pointless discussion considering they hate guns, and I own them. No common ground is likely to exist, and so I don't do it.

Thanks for commenting, it's the engagement on here that I value the most.

Does look very similar. I shoot too, but only occasionally when with the family in another state.
Yes, engaging here on steemit is the best thing and especially with people who've got their own viewpoint/don't mind being complex and take what works personally rather than sticking to rigid, pre-determined/prescribed agenda's, so thank you too for commenting and engaging.

You're welcome. We all have opinions and it's a good place to voice them.

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