Port Arthur Historic Site

What did it take to escape Port Arthur?

Escape from Port Arthur tour

Introducing the Escape from Port Arthur tour, a walking true crime adventure novel. You'll meet cunning and criminal characters, some clever, some courageous and some without hope.

Adult - $20 Child - $10 Family - $60

Daily at 11:00am

Some stories should never be forgotten

Isle of the Dead cemetery tour

The final resting place for over 1,000 convicts, soldiers and free settlers

Adult $30

12:20pm; 1:00pm; 3:00pm daily

Dining at Port Arthur

Open for breakfast daily from 8am. Enjoy freshly brewed coffee and sweet treats, thirst-quenching cold drinks, beers, wines and spirits, and fresh, delicious food made in-house using local ingredients. If you’re in a hurry to explore, pick up a pack of tasty sandwiches for a picnic in the garden; or if it’s time for a reviving break, choose something cooked to order in our kitchens and relax inside or on our deck as you soak up views of the site.

1830 Restaurant & Bar is open from 5pm Wednesday – Saturday. Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, halal and other dietary options are available upon request.

Explore at Home

Online Exhibition

A peek at some of our behind the scenes collections and their stories

Play at Home

Activities

Puzzles and Games for the whole family

There are some people we'd like you to meet...

Henry Singleton

“I made the keys and can escape from the prison with them whenever I like.”
Drunken and incompetent warders were easy prey for the enterprising Henry Singleton. When they gave him access to keys, he saw his chance.

Robert Young

Private Robert Young's headstone reads: “His melancholy fate doth plainly prove/the frail uncertainty of human life”.
Two convicts risked their lives to save Robert from drowning. Were they his friends, or were they hoping for a reward?

William Champ

“Something of this kind was much needed for the ladies of the settlement.”
Plants and gardens were Commandant William Champ’s lifelong passion. He even preferred them to beer!

David Hoy

“I treated the men as human beings, not as caged beasts.”
David Hoy gave his life to building fine ships, and to saving the men and boys in his care from lives of crime.

Margaret Dalziel

"Surgeon’s report; bad. Behaviour; idle and disorderly.”
The fiery young Scottish highway-woman tested the system to its limits but, given trust and respect, she turned her life around.

Events

13 Feb

Summer Makers’ Market

With an incredible array of makers, producers, artists and creators from the turrakana / Tasman Peninsula region, you are sure to find something for yourself, your shelves, your loved ones and even for your lunch.

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Programs

until Wed 9 Feb

Kid’s Eye View

Smiling families, eerie black and whites, stonework, gardens, the grand panoramas down to the very close-ups of bees - we love seeing and sharing your images and stories of your time at Port Arthur. And now we want to see it how your younger ones see it!

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