Agent Log In

What’s On

Tours, events and daily happenings at Port Arthur

Guide talks at Port Arthur

We offer a number of free guide talks around the historic site. These talks change locations and times daily. We recommend that you refresh your screen to display the most up-to-date information.

Commandant’s HousePenitentiaryJunior Medical OfficersConvict ChurchSeparate Prison
11.00am10.30am
12.00pm11.45am11.00am12.00pm11.30am
1.30pm1.00pm1.45pm1.00pm
2.30pm2.00pm
3.30pm3.00pm3.30pm3.00pm

On this Day:  In 1838 at Port Arthur Hugh McDonald was given 25 stripes for not performing his work on a plea of inability.

Events

A collage of work by the Peninsula Art Group

Our Place: Peninsula Art Group Exhibition

Port Arthur is part of all of us past and present. Our Place is a compelling group of artworks from the Peninsula Art Group’s 2025 Port Arthur residency. Drawing upon Port Arthur as a place of contrasts, the harsh reality of the past and the peaceful beauty of the present, the works communicate our history,…
Available in addition to standard site entry fees.

Tours

A Port Arthur Guide in uniform gestures towards the ruins of the Penitentiary watched in interest by two visitors

Port Arthur Essentials Tour

Port Arthur was a bold experiment and ground-breaking attempt at reform of convicts in the colony. Join our expert guide as they share the essential history and characters who lived, worked, and served their time here. The Port Arthur Essentials Tour runs for approximately 45 minutes and is our most accessible tour with only a…
Available in addition to standard site entry fees.

Escape from Port Arthur

Surrender your freedom for 1 hour to take this exciting tour where you will meet cunning criminal character who went to extreme measures to escape from Port Arthur.
Available in addition to standard site entry fees.
guide conduction tour of the cemetery island

Isle of the Dead cemetery tour

Step off the Harbour Cruise for a 40-minute guided tour around the final resting place for many convicts, soldiers and free settlers.
Available in addition to standard site entry fees.

Looking to visit Port Arthur after dark?

Ghost tour tickets available now.

Read More Buy Tickets

See also

WHILE YOU’RE HERE

EXPLORE OUR OTHER SITES

Port Arthur Historic Site is a 90-minute drive from nipaluna / Hobart, and the journey offers some of the best sightseeing in lutruwita / Tasmania. Visit The Coal Mines Historic Site at Saltwater River, and visit The Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart upon your return.

Cascades Female Factory logo

Cascades Female Factory

Cascades Female Factory Historic Site aims to foster a greater understanding and appreciation for the largely untold story of female convicts and their children.

 Coal Mines Historic Site logo

Coal Mines Historic Site

The Coal Mines Historic Site is an outstanding example of the 19th-century European global strategy of using the forced labour of convicts.

Acknowledgement of country

We would like to acknowledge that the Port Arthur Historic Site is built on unceded Aboriginal land. We pay respect to the Palawa (Tasmanian Aboriginal) Community, their Elders past and present.