This article is primarily about the 1895 fire at Port Arthur in relation to the Model Prison, although the entire historic site was severely impacted. The Separate, or Model Prison at Tasmania’s Port Arthur closed in 1877. ‘Separate’ meant complete isolation. Inmates wore hoods if others were
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MAYDA….just one letter short of an S.O.S. LONDON – On August 19 1845 the Morning Post reported that the convict transport Mayda was lying at Woolwich, with 197 prisoners on board. They had been brought down the Thames from the Millbank Penitentiary and were to be taken
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A STORY ABOUT MY G-G-G-GRANDFATHER When Australian author Kate Grenville was researching her convict ancestor for the novel Secret River, she admitted to feeling slightly anxious about the nature of his crime. Theft was one thing, but what if he had been transported for something really serious;
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