The Port Arthur, Tasmania reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Port Arthur, Tasmania

Port Arthur is a town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is located approximately 60km south east of the state capital, Hobart, though it is approximately 120km by road.

Although it started as a timber station in 1830, it is best known for being a penal colony. From 1833, until around the 1850s, it was a destination for the hardest of convicted British criminals. The prison closed in 1877.

As penal colony, Port Arthur secured by shark infested waters on three side and a thin peninsula crossed from end to end in the fences and guard dogs.

In 1979 it received funding to be preserved as a tourist destination, due to its historical significance.

Port Authur has been home to many reputed cases of haunting and ghosts - particually of convict origin. These include cases of cells with ghostly screams and empty rocking chairs that move.

On April 29, 1996, the small community was scarred by an event known as the Port Arthur massacre, where a man named Martin Bryant opened fire, murdering 35 people.

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