The Port Arthur Historic Site is a former penal settlement on the Tasman Peninsula. It is one of Australia’s most visited historical sites, attracting over 350,000 visitors every year. Between 1830 and 1877, around 12,000 male convicts served time there.

The Penitentiary is undoubtedly the most well-known ruin at Port Arthur. It was built as a flour mill and granary in the 1840s, and was converted to a penitentiary in the 1850s. In 1897, it was gutted by a bushfire and left in ruins. It has been preserved since the twentieth century.

Between 2013 and 2016, several archaeological investigations took place at the Penitentiary began. Recovering Convict Lives: A Historical Archaeology of the Port Arthur Penitentiary has made the findings available to the general public for the first time.

Compiled from several archaeology reports, the book includes a short history of Port Arthur and the Penitentiary precinct. Lists, matrices, photographs, illustrations, and maps are included in the account of the archaeology investigations.

I found it interesting to learn about what was uncovered during the archaeological digs. Some of the things found included clay pipes, gambling tokens, and buttons. All these are insights into the inner workings of the convict system and the day-to-day lives of the convicts at Port Arthur.

It is clear that a lot of work went into Recovering Convict Lives. The authors have done a good job at distilling dry archaeology reports into a palatable book.

I would recommend the book to history buffs and archaeologists.

The Penitentiary during the 1800s.

The Penitentiary as it appears today.

About the authors

Ashley Matic was excavation director at Port Arthur in 2013. He is currently part of the Historic Unrecovered War Casualties team in the History and Heritage Branch of the Royal Australian Air Force.

David Roe is archaeology manager at Port Arthur.

Jeanne Harris has worked in cultural heritage and resources management in the USA and Australia. A PhD candidate at the University of New England, she is also the owner of a consultancy that analyses historical artefacts.

Richard Tuffin is an archaeologist who has worked in Australia, the Pacific, and the UK. He is currently working at the University of New England as a Research Fellow.

Sylvana Szydzik is conservation project officer at Port Arthur.

Technical information

Recovering Convict Lives: A Historical Archaeology of the Port Arthur Penitentiary, Sydney University Press 2021, ISBN 9781743327821, paperback with a photograph cover.