Hobart's Dark Past: The Convict History
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Port
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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Activity Level
Moderate Activity
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Excursion Type
All
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Wheelchair Accessible
No
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Starting At
$190
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Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
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Duration
Approximately 3½ Hours
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Meals Included
Meals not included
This tour brings together two of Tasmania's most significant convict heritage sites—the Cascades Female Factory Historic Site and the Hobart Penitentiary. This is an unforgettable journey into Australia's colonial past with your guide sharing fascinating stories and historical insights into Hobart's convict origins.
Your first stop is the Cascades Female Factory Historic Site, Australia's most significant site dedicated to the history of female convicts. Between 1828 and 1856, more than 6,000 women and their children passed through its gates. Originally established as a place of punishment, assignment, and reform, the factory became a community where women worked in laundries, sewing rooms, nurseries, and workshops while enduring harsh conditions and strict discipline. As you walk through the atmospheric ruins, you'll discover moving stories of resilience, motherhood, survival, and the extraordinary strength of the women who helped build colonial Tasmania despite immense hardship.
Continue to the Hobart Penitentiary, one of Australia's oldest surviving convict-built prison complexes. This site served as a convict barracks, courthouse, and prison for more than 150 years. Explore the original convict cells, imposing sandstone buildings, and historic execution yard. Learn how the penitentiary evolved from housing transported convicts to becoming one of Tasmania's most important centres of law and order.
This tour is an experience for anyone wanting to explore the fascinating and often confronting legacy of Tasmania's convict past.
Please note:
Minimum age is 16 years. Cascade Female Factory is wheelchair accessible, while Hobart Penitentiary is 85% wheel chair accessible, as there are up to 20 stairs to be negotiated.