History of Hobart - Penal Colony

Penal Colony

Although Hobart Town had initially been established to prevent the French from establishing a colony there, its isolation soon proved to be a useful attribute for a secondary penal colony.

The convicts who arrived with Bowen's expedition had been dispatched to assist with necessary labour in the establishment of the colony. However, it was soon decided that the growing population of convicts in Sydney could be better managed by breaking them up into smaller groups. Some were sent to Norfolk Island, and others to Hobart Town. Early in 1804 whilst the settlers were still camped at Risdon Cove, a strike occurred amongst the soldiers who were guarding the convicts, as they were too few to be effective in controlling the increased convict population. An agreement was made that the ratio of soldiers to convicts would be increased, and they returned to duties. Whilst some convicts were kept in gaol within Hobart Town, secondary sites such as Sarah Island and Port Arthur were later created to spread the convict labour to more isolated regions, and for the purpose of stricter confinement for repeat offenders.

By 1817, an increasing number of female convicts were arriving in Hobart town, and there was not enough room to keep them in the first Hobart Town gaol. Permission was granted in 1821 by NSW Governor Lachlan Macquarie for the construction of a separate gaol for female convicts. Despite this, construction took nearly eight years, and it wasn't until December 1828 that the first female convicts began to be transferred to the Cascades Female Factory, in the foothills of Mount Wellington.

The opening of penal settlements at Maria Island (1825) and Port Arthur (1832) on the Tasman Peninsular, 111 km Southeast of Hobart Town, brought more importance to the island's East Coast, which resulted in the closing of Sarah Island penitentiary in 1833. The first land grants at Richmond were made in 1823, however the township began to grow much more rapidly after Port Arthur was founded, as it soon became an important stop on the highway to Port Arthur. Richmond Gaol was soon opened in 1825, and the oldest surviving bridge in Australia, the Richmond Bridge, was built there across the Coal River in 1823. The penitentiary at Port Arthur, although now remembered as a cruel and unpleasant place, was at the time one of the most advanced prisons. Improvements were made with the opening in 1853 of the 'separate prison', also known as the "model prison", the design of which was based on the modernised prison of Pentonville in London. Conditions were fair, a legitimate attempt was made to reform men, and boys were taught a trade and given religious lessons in a very pious society. Port Arthur was guarded by day and night by a line of soldiers and dogs, across the isthmus of the peninsular.

In 1831 the need for better facilities to contain the convicts within Hobart Town was answered by the opening of the Campbell Street Gaol with its magnificent Penitentiary Chapel, and open execution yard. Law Courts were soon added, and remained in use until 1983. The gaol features underground passages and solitary confinement cells. Port Arthur the site of the secondary punishment penitentiary opened in 1830. By 1835 it had grown to house 800 convicts, many of whom regularly served in chain gangs. It operated until 1877.

Only 6% of convicts in Hobart were kept confined in gaols. The majority were used on government building projects, such as the Sorell Causeway, or worked as indentured servants for free settlers. Despite this relative freedom, some continued to offend and transgressors were often confined by heavy leg irons, and flogged for minor indiscretions.

Convict transportation to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was to last exactly 50 years. In the 1840s, a strong local opposition group grew in Hobart Town known as the Anti-Transportation League, and they began lobbying the government to call for an end to convict transportation. By 1853 transportation to Van Diemen's Land was abolished, but many of the convicts already there still had lengthy sentences to complete. The success of the Anti-Transportation League led to locals calling for responsible self-government for the colony of Van Diemen's Land, which was granted in 1856, with Hobart Town remaining as the colonial capital.