Port Arthur Audio Experience

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The Port Arthur Audio Experience is a self-guided audio experience that introduces Port Arthur, its people and its past.

Each of the episodes lasts approximately five minutes. There are eight episodes available for free to all visitors.

Listen now using the players below or download by clicking one of the icons (or search “Port Arthur Experience” where you download your podcasts.)

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Chapter 1: Introduction

Vintage photograph of eight uniformed men standing in a line, likely 19th century soldiers or police officers.

Meet Colin, Port Arthur’s most experienced Tour Guide as he introduces you to the site. If at Port Arthur we recommend you listen to this episode as leaving our Visitor Centre and heading onto the site.

Chapter 2: So Why Here?

Historic aerial view of a coastal town with a prominent church spire in the foreground and mountains in the distance.

Why did they choose this beautiful location for the Port Arthur prison? If at Port Arthur we recommend you listen to this episode near the waterfront.

Chapter 3: The Penitentiary

Historic photograph of a large multi-story barracks or institutional building complex with hills in the background.

Once home to the convicts and today a ruin of the grandest scale. If at Port Arthur we recommend you listen to this episode inside the Penitentiary (location 1 on your map)

Chapter 4: The Commandant’s House

Vintage photograph of people sitting on steps of a building, with a stone tower visible in the background.

The bosses house and one of Port Arthur’s museum houses. If at Port Arthur we recommend you listen to this episode anywhere on the road behind the Penitentiary (locations 3, 4 or 5 on your map)

Chapter 5: Transportation

Historic black and white photograph of a sailing ship anchored near a coastal town with hills in the background.

Who were these convicts? Where did they come from? Why were they sent here? If at Port Arthur this episode can be listened to anywhere. We recommend you climb Settlement Hill and take in the view while listening (locations 7, 8 and 9 on your map)

Chapter 6: Punishment

Vintage black and white portrait of an older man with short hair, wearing a dark coat and patterned neckerchief.

Port Arthur earned the nickname “Hell on Earth” for a reason. If at Port Arthur we recommend you listen to this episode just outside the Separate Prison (location 12 or 13 on your map)

Episode 7: Quality Row & the Church

A historic church with a tall spire, surrounded by neatly trimmed shrubs and trees. A mountain range is visible in the background.

It wasn’t only convicts who lived at this prison, free families also called Port Arthur home. If at Port Arthur we recommend you listen to this episode anywhere around Civil Officers Row (locations 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 on your map)

Chapter 8: 1877 & Beyond

A group of people in 19th-century attire pose on the steps of an ornate building, with one woman sitting and five men standing around her.

Port Arthur closed forever as a prison in 1877. We conclude with the post prison history. If at Port Arthur we recommend you listen to this episode while enjoying Government Gardens (location 23 on your map)