Port Arthur, Tasmania

Port Arthur, Tasmania
UNESCO World Heritage Site
View of Port Arthur, Tasmania, one of the 11 penal sites constituting the Australian Convict Sites
Part ofAustralian Convict Sites
CriteriaCultural: iv, vi
Reference1306-008
Inscription2011 (35th Session)
Area146 ha
Buffer zone1,216.51 ha
Websiteportarthur.org.au
Port Arthur
Tasmania
Port Arthur is located in Tasmania
Port Arthur
Port Arthur
Coordinates43°09′0″S 147°51′0″E / 43.15000°S 147.85000°E / -43.15000; 147.85000
Population251 (2016 census)[1]
Established1830
Postcode(s)7182
Location
LGA(s)Tasman Council
State electorate(s)Lyons
Federal division(s)Lyons
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
14.8 °C
59 °F
8.2 °C
47 °F
1,148.8 mm
45.2 in
Location of Port Arthur.

Port Arthur is a town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is located approximately 97 kilometres (60 mi) southeast of the state capital, Hobart.

The site forms part of the Australian Convict Sites, a World Heritage property consisting of 11 remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips. Collectively, these sites, including Port Arthur, are described by UNESCO as "... the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts."[3]

In 1996, the town was the scene of the Port Arthur massacre, the worst instance of mass murder in post-colonial Australian history.

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Port Arthur (Tas.) (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 31 January 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  3. ^ "Australian Convict Sites". World Heritage List. UNESCO. 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.