The Nuenonne tribe occupied the area in and around Eaglehawk Neck before the British settled Tasmania in 1803. They had a deep connection with the land and sea, and used natural resources for their sustenance and cultural practices. Beyond this, we know very little about their presence at the Neck because they didn’t keep written records.
Sir George Arthur, the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land between 1824 and 1836, decided in 1827 that the Tasman Peninsula was an awfully good place to set up a penal settlement for convicts. It was isolated, rugged, and blanketed in dense bushland. The settlement at Port Arthur was born three years later.
In 1831, a military outpost was established at Eaglehawk Neck – the narrow isthmus that connects the Tasman Peninsula with mainland Tasmania – to stop escaped convicts from reaching the settled districts of the then-British colony.* The infamous ‘dog line’ was created the following year as a further measure to stop escapees.
The security measures worked for the most part, with only a few escaped convicts managing to cross the Neck without attracting the attention of the soldiers and dogs. Among them was Martin Cash!
The military left the Neck in 1863, and police constables took over until 1877, when Port Arthur was shut down. Private settlers soon bought land in and around the isthmus, which was declared a historic site in 1991. The former officers’ quarters building is currently a museum open for visitation most of the year.
* Very few convicts knew how to swim, so if they managed to escape Port Arthur and make their way through the bush, Eaglehawk Neck was their only way off the Tasman Peninsula.
Eaglehawk Neck in 1900.
Tas That Was is a column that includes:
- anecdotes of life in Tasmania in the past;
- historical photographs of locations in Tasmania; and/or
- documentaries about locations in Tasmania.
If you have an anecdote or photograph you’d like to share with us, please send it to [email protected].
Callum J. Jones studied English, History, and Journalism at the University of Tasmania. He has written fiction and non-fiction for Tasmanian Times since 2018, and can be traced by the smell of fresh coffee.
Follow him on Twitter (@Callum_Jones_10) and Facebook (@callum.j.jones.creative).