Sarah Island (Tasmania)
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The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
colonial penal settlement, established on Sarah Island,
Macquarie Harbour Macquarie Harbour is a shallow fjord in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately , and has an average depth of , with deeper places up to . It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by the ...
, in the former colony of
Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...
, now
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
, operated between 1822 and 1833. The settlement housed male convicts, with a small number of women housed on a nearby island. During its 11 years of operation, the penal colony achieved a reputation as one of the harshest penal settlements in the Australian colonies. The formal penal station is located on the Sarah Island that now operates as an historic site under the direction of the
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is the government body responsible for protected areas of Tasmania on public land, such as national parks, historic sites and regional reserves. Historically it has also had responsibility for managing wildli ...
.


Rationale for establishment

The penal station was established as a place of banishment within the Australian colonies. It took the worst convicts, those who had reoffended and those who had escaped from other settlements. The isolated land was ideally suited for its purpose. It was separated from the mainland by the wide expanse of river, surrounded by a mountainous wilderness and was hundreds of miles away from the colony's other settled areas. The only seaward access was through a treacherous narrow channel known as Hells Gates. Strong tidal currents resulted in the deaths of many convicts before they even reached the settlement owing to ships foundering in the narrow rocky channel. The surveyor who mapped Sarah Island concluded that the chances of escape were "next to impossible". Neighbouring Grummet Island, a small island to the Northeast, was used for solitary confinement. Lieutenant-Governor
William Sorell William Sorell (1775 – 4 June 1848) was a soldier and third Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. Early life Sorell was born probably in the West Indies, the eldest son of Lieutenant-general William Alexander Sorell and his wife Jane. So ...
wanted the new penal colony to be economically viable. It could then reimburse the British government for the expense of its establishment. The island was cleared soon after the arrival of the convicts and their Governor. However, this exposed the settlement to the howling gales of the roaring forties, so it was necessary to build a wall from Huon Pine to provide shelter. Convicts spent most of their waking hours, often up to their necks in water, cutting timber and preparing it for rafting down the river. Lashings were common and were to be administered by another convict. If they were not administered with sufficient severity, the convict who had been given responsibility for administering the lashes was also lashed. The severity of the lashings was sufficient to cause death in some cases. If a convict appeared in danger of death, a doctor could intervene, the lashing would cease (for a time) and be resumed once the convict was deemed to have recovered sufficiently for it to continue. After a time, a Scottish shipbuilder David Hoy, who had heard of the remarkable properties of Huon Pine for shipbuilding came, voluntarily, to the island. He negotiated with the convicts, allowing them rations of rum and tobacco, and more weatherproof sleeping quarters in exchange for their cooperation. For a short period, it was the largest shipbuilding operation in the Australian colonies. Chained convicts had the task of cutting down
Huon pine ''Lagarostrobos franklinii'' is a species of conifer native to the wet southwestern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It is often known as the Huon pine or Macquarie pine, although it is actually a podocarp (Podocarpaceae), not a true pine (Pinaceae ...
trees and rafting the logs down the river.


Conditions

As Sarah Island could not produce food,
malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
,
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
, and
scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
were often rampant among the convict population. The penal colony had to be supplied by sea. Living conditions were particularly bad in the early years of the settlement. The settlement was so crowded, convicts were unable to sleep on their backs in the communal barracks. Punishment involved solitary confinement and regular floggings - 9,100 lashes were given in 1823. In 1824 a prisoner named Trenham stabbed another convict in order to be executed rather than face further imprisonment at Macquarie Harbour Penal Station. It was finally closed in late 1833. Most of the remaining convicts were then relocated to Port Arthur.


Escapes

Despite its isolated location, a considerable number of convicts attempted to escape from the island.
Bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...
Matthew Brady Matthew Brady (1799 – 4 May 1826) was an English-born convict who became a bushranger in Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania). He was sometimes known as "Gentleman Brady" due to his good treatment and fine manners when robbing his victims. ...
was among a party that successfully escaped to
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
in 1824 after tying up their overseer and seizing a boat.
James Goodwin James Goodwin ( 1800 – after 1835) was a convict escapee and explorer in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). In March 1828, he escaped from the notorious Sarah Island prison with fellow convict Thomas Connolly, and the two were the first whit ...
was pardoned after his 1828 escape and was subsequently employed to make official surveys of the wilderness he had passed through. Sarah Island's most infamous escapee was Alexander Pearce who managed to get away twice. On both occasions, he cannibalized his fellow escapees. When the station was closing down, ten convicts were permitted to remain to complete building a brig. When it was complete, they sailed down the river toward the sea, put everyone else ashore and sailed the brig to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
.


Later use and current conditions

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. The ruins of the settlement remain today as the ''Sarah Island Historic Site'' —part of the larger
Tasmanian Wilderness The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, abbreviated to TWWHA, is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering , or almost 25% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last ex ...
World Heritage Area—though they are not as well preserved as those at better-known Port Arthur. The island is accessible via ferries and charter boats operating out of the town of Strahan.


In the media

Sarah Island has been frequently featured in Australian literature and theatre, often representing the worst excesses of the British convict system. Notable 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 Richard Innes Davey (4 November 1938 – 13 March 2013) was an Australian actor, director and writer. He was the founder of the Round Earth Company and advocate for the understanding of the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station on Sarah Island ...
dramatises the Frederick escape, 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.ABC Radio National,
Artworks
', ABC Radio, 11 November 2007. Accessed 6 October 2008
The films ''
The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce ''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' is a 2008 Australian-Irish film directed by Michael James Rowland starring Irish actors Adrian Dunbar as Philip Conolly and Ciarán McMenamin as bushranger Alexander Pearce and an ensemble Australian ...
'' and ''
Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...
'' deal with one of the more notorious escapees. Photography of the island and ruins have at various stages shown the ruins of the buildings: : 1929 -


Known escapees

* Mordecai Cohen, escaped in April 1823 * George Hammersley and James Woodward, escaped on 4 May 1824 * John Graham, John Germanston, and John McCarthy, escaped on 20 July 1825 *
Matthew Brady Matthew Brady (1799 – 4 May 1826) was an English-born convict who became a bushranger in Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania). He was sometimes known as "Gentleman Brady" due to his good treatment and fine manners when robbing his victims. ...
* Alexander Pearce * Ten convicts, notably former whaler James Porter, in the Frederick escape 3 September 1830 five men ran away from the settlement, Richard Hutchinson, William Coventry, Patrick Fagan, Mathew Macavoy, and Broughton, and that they were upwards of thirty days before the two 'survivors' surrendered themselves at Macguire's Marsh near Osterley.


Gallery

File:Penitentiary ruin on Sarah Island.jpg, Part of Sarah Island, including ruins of the "new penitentiary" File:Bakehouse on Sarah Island.jpg, Ruins of the large domed oven in the bakehouse on Sarah Island. File:Solitary cells on Sarah Island.jpg, Remains of the solitary cells, which were completely dark inside and barely large enough to lie down in.


See also

*
Convicts on the West Coast of Tasmania The West Coast of Tasmania has a significant convict heritage. The use of the west coast as an outpost to house convicts in isolated penal settlements occurred in the eras 1822–33, and 1846–47. The main locations were Sarah Island (known ...
*
William Buelow Gould William Buelow Gould (1801 – 11 December 1853) was an English and Van Diemonian (Tasmanian) painter. He was transported to Australia as a convict in 1827, after which he would become one of the most important early artists in the colony, desp ...
* Information about “The Ship That Never Was” (Australia’s longest-running play) about the last ship built at Sarah Island.


References


Further reading

*Barnard, Simon
A-Z of Convicts in Van Diemen’s Land
Text Publishing, Melbourne, 2014. * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Sarah Island: Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania – website
{{Islands of Tasmania Australian penal colonies Colonial history of Tasmania Prison museums in Australia Tourist attractions in Tasmania Defunct prisons in Tasmania 1822 establishments in Australia 1833 disestablishments Macquarie Harbour Huon Pine Convictism in Tasmania Van Diemen's Land Sarah Island