GTA Port Arthur - Episode III
Port Arthur - Tasmania
A ghostly over seer in the window?
Courtesy The Port Arthur Website - History
The Port Arthur penal settlement began life as a small timber station in 1830. Originally designed as a replacement for the recently closed timber camp at Birches Bay, Port Arthur quickly grew in importance within the penal system of the colonies.
The initial decade of settlement saw a penal station hacked from the bush, and the first manufactories - such as ship building, shoemaking, smithing, timber and brick making - established. The 1840s witnessed a consolidation of the industrial and penal nature of the settlement as the convict population reached over 1100. In 1842 a huge flour mill and granary (later the penitentiary) was begun, as well as the construction of a hospital.
1848 saw the first stone laid for the Separate Prison, the completion of which brought about a shift in punishment philosophy from physical to mental subjugation. Port Arthur also expanded geographically as the convicts pushed further into the encircling hills to extract the valuable timber.
GTA Visit to the Port Arthur Historic Site - 21-22 August 2012
Date: 21 August 2012
Location: Port Arthur, TAS
Crew: Savo, Tanya, and Isabella.
Weather: Passing rain showers, cold but mostly calm.
We arrived in Hobart Tasmania on Saturday 18 August 2012 and stayed in an 1830's cottage in Franklin. Yes, this place was haunted.
Our plans were delayed when I decided that I needed to experience the Tasmanian Ambulance services's hospitality and skills at getting me to Hobart Private Hospital where upon I was taken through the ED and spent the next day recovering from a stuck kidney stone! Thanks to all the Ambos, nurses and Doc for making the ouchies go away!
But anyway, that aside, we arrived in Port Arthur on Tuesday 21 August and booked a room at the Port Arthur Motel; as well as our dinner and ghost tour package for that evening. That afternoon was raining and cold, but the weather broke in the early evening, so we decided to head to the historic site a little early and get an idea of how the place looked and felt.
After our brief walk through of the site, we made our way up to the visitors centre, which houses "Felons Restaurant" where we had a delicious dinner before leaving on the 8pm ghost tour. Our tour guide was Mead and she was very well versed in her knowledge of the site and a pleasure to listen to. Without covering the ghost tour step by step, I'll simply "dot point brief" each of the parts of the lantern lit tour.
1. The tour made it's way through the gardens and up to the Government Cottage. Nothing was seen or felt and an account of the cottage's history was given.
2. We then made our way into the Convict Church. This is a spectacular ruin and the coverage talk given by Mead was very interesting; talking about two sudden deaths of convicts while the church was being constructed. Bear in mind, there are a lot of people on these ghost tours, so it is a bit noisy when people start taking photos and talking.
3. The parsonage was our next stop. This is allegedly one of the most haunted places in Australia, and while we were there, Tanya had an experience.
- Standing in one of the main rooms, listening to mead give her account of former workers being haunted, Tanya heard from behind her (where there was a closed window) what sounded like footsteps on the verandah outside. Two problems. One; that everyone was inside the house. Two; there was no verandah floorboards as they were pulled up for restoration work!
4. We then made our way through Civil Officer's Row and followed Mead's account of the lady in blue and how the apparition was seen over the years. I can't say too much on what was said as Isabella had to go to the loo.....
5. The surgeon's house was our next stop. This stop is where things got a little interesting. While Mead was outside the back of the house telling us about the upcoming visit to the downstairs "surgery", one of the group said that he saw a female dressed in white watching us from the cobble stoned area next to the old stables. His wife saw it also, but they didn't say anything until after the tour. Hmmm, skeptical about that one.......
But for Tanya, she was pinched on her arm by an unseen force! We were listening the Mean downstairs as she relayed the story of a mouse moving a skull during a tour and Tanya told Isabella to stop pinching her. Isabella was standing in front of her, so she told me to stop pinching her.... I wasn't pinching her. I took a photo that revealed nothing but Tanya was upset at how sore her arm was and that she felt as though someone was pinching her. When we got back to the Motel, there was a red pinch mark left on her arm!!
6. After the surgeon's house we made our way across the site to the Separate Prison. This was another interesting story telling session and appreciation of the area at night, but unfortunately nothing was seen felt or captured by us on film or video (Mean gave me permission to film from here on).
So that was pretty much the Ghost Tour. A few interesting things seen and felt, and a excellent account of the stories and history of the site; so well worth the money spent on the dinner and tour package! Thanks very much to Mead for her awesome tour!
After the tour, Isabella, Tanya and I had to walk back through the site from the information centre to get back to our Motel. We re-traced the steps of the tour and arrived at the Convict Church. This is when things got interesting!
I turned on the video camera and started filming the church. I walked in and before long there was a feeling of not being alone....... I filmed the bell tower, walked around to the spot that convict Joseph Shuttleworth was murdered by a fellow convict, William Riley while digging the churches footings. Without warning, the camera shut itself off (it's never done that before) and I felt someone pushing me in the back as I ran outside, very spooked. After composing myself, I turned the camera back on and made my way back inside. Feeling anger as I again walked inside, this time with two other guys from the tour who showed up. Once again I panned to the spot where Joseph was murdered and the camera shut down!! No pushing this time, but the two fellows with me did feel very uneasy as the events unfolded. Then, everything went back to normal and the camera started working. Nothing else was seen or felt there from then on.
Going back outside however, Tanya was watching a shadow in the parsonage waving at her and then be conning her to "come here". I could see a dim light, but no shadow and with the evening now late, Isabella tired and me about to collapse in pain (hey, I was in surgery just a day earlier!) we called it a night.
GTA Visit to the Port Arthur Historic Site - 21-22 August 2012
Date: 22 August 2012
Location: Port Arthur, TAS
Crew: Savo, Tanya, and Isabella.
Weather: Cold, clear, sunny and very windy.
You know what, for something different, I'm not going to write out my account of our day at Port Arthur; I've got three parts to this episode covering everything in very great detail!
So, go to: GTA - Port Arthur Penal Settlement - Part … And watch it for yourself!!! :)
Enjoy.
The Port Arthur penal settlement began life as a small timber station in 1830. Originally designed as a replacement for the recently closed timber camp at Birches Bay, Port Arthur quickly grew in importance within the penal system of the colonies.
The initial decade of settlement saw a penal station hacked from the bush, and the first manufactories - such as ship building, shoemaking, smithing, timber and brick making - established. The 1840s witnessed a consolidation of the industrial and penal nature of the settlement as the convict population reached over 1100. In 1842 a huge flour mill and granary (later the penitentiary) was begun, as well as the construction of a hospital.
1848 saw the first stone laid for the Separate Prison, the completion of which brought about a shift in punishment philosophy from physical to mental subjugation. Port Arthur also expanded geographically as the convicts pushed further into the encircling hills to extract the valuable timber.
GTA Visit to the Port Arthur Historic Site - 21-22 August 2012
Date: 21 August 2012
Location: Port Arthur, TAS
Crew: Savo, Tanya, and Isabella.
Weather: Passing rain showers, cold but mostly calm.
We arrived in Hobart Tasmania on Saturday 18 August 2012 and stayed in an 1830's cottage in Franklin. Yes, this place was haunted.
Our plans were delayed when I decided that I needed to experience the Tasmanian Ambulance services's hospitality and skills at getting me to Hobart Private Hospital where upon I was taken through the ED and spent the next day recovering from a stuck kidney stone! Thanks to all the Ambos, nurses and Doc for making the ouchies go away!
But anyway, that aside, we arrived in Port Arthur on Tuesday 21 August and booked a room at the Port Arthur Motel; as well as our dinner and ghost tour package for that evening. That afternoon was raining and cold, but the weather broke in the early evening, so we decided to head to the historic site a little early and get an idea of how the place looked and felt.
After our brief walk through of the site, we made our way up to the visitors centre, which houses "Felons Restaurant" where we had a delicious dinner before leaving on the 8pm ghost tour. Our tour guide was Mead and she was very well versed in her knowledge of the site and a pleasure to listen to. Without covering the ghost tour step by step, I'll simply "dot point brief" each of the parts of the lantern lit tour.
1. The tour made it's way through the gardens and up to the Government Cottage. Nothing was seen or felt and an account of the cottage's history was given.
2. We then made our way into the Convict Church. This is a spectacular ruin and the coverage talk given by Mead was very interesting; talking about two sudden deaths of convicts while the church was being constructed. Bear in mind, there are a lot of people on these ghost tours, so it is a bit noisy when people start taking photos and talking.
3. The parsonage was our next stop. This is allegedly one of the most haunted places in Australia, and while we were there, Tanya had an experience.
- Standing in one of the main rooms, listening to mead give her account of former workers being haunted, Tanya heard from behind her (where there was a closed window) what sounded like footsteps on the verandah outside. Two problems. One; that everyone was inside the house. Two; there was no verandah floorboards as they were pulled up for restoration work!
4. We then made our way through Civil Officer's Row and followed Mead's account of the lady in blue and how the apparition was seen over the years. I can't say too much on what was said as Isabella had to go to the loo.....
5. The surgeon's house was our next stop. This stop is where things got a little interesting. While Mead was outside the back of the house telling us about the upcoming visit to the downstairs "surgery", one of the group said that he saw a female dressed in white watching us from the cobble stoned area next to the old stables. His wife saw it also, but they didn't say anything until after the tour. Hmmm, skeptical about that one.......
But for Tanya, she was pinched on her arm by an unseen force! We were listening the Mean downstairs as she relayed the story of a mouse moving a skull during a tour and Tanya told Isabella to stop pinching her. Isabella was standing in front of her, so she told me to stop pinching her.... I wasn't pinching her. I took a photo that revealed nothing but Tanya was upset at how sore her arm was and that she felt as though someone was pinching her. When we got back to the Motel, there was a red pinch mark left on her arm!!
6. After the surgeon's house we made our way across the site to the Separate Prison. This was another interesting story telling session and appreciation of the area at night, but unfortunately nothing was seen felt or captured by us on film or video (Mean gave me permission to film from here on).
So that was pretty much the Ghost Tour. A few interesting things seen and felt, and a excellent account of the stories and history of the site; so well worth the money spent on the dinner and tour package! Thanks very much to Mead for her awesome tour!
After the tour, Isabella, Tanya and I had to walk back through the site from the information centre to get back to our Motel. We re-traced the steps of the tour and arrived at the Convict Church. This is when things got interesting!
I turned on the video camera and started filming the church. I walked in and before long there was a feeling of not being alone....... I filmed the bell tower, walked around to the spot that convict Joseph Shuttleworth was murdered by a fellow convict, William Riley while digging the churches footings. Without warning, the camera shut itself off (it's never done that before) and I felt someone pushing me in the back as I ran outside, very spooked. After composing myself, I turned the camera back on and made my way back inside. Feeling anger as I again walked inside, this time with two other guys from the tour who showed up. Once again I panned to the spot where Joseph was murdered and the camera shut down!! No pushing this time, but the two fellows with me did feel very uneasy as the events unfolded. Then, everything went back to normal and the camera started working. Nothing else was seen or felt there from then on.
Going back outside however, Tanya was watching a shadow in the parsonage waving at her and then be conning her to "come here". I could see a dim light, but no shadow and with the evening now late, Isabella tired and me about to collapse in pain (hey, I was in surgery just a day earlier!) we called it a night.
GTA Visit to the Port Arthur Historic Site - 21-22 August 2012
Date: 22 August 2012
Location: Port Arthur, TAS
Crew: Savo, Tanya, and Isabella.
Weather: Cold, clear, sunny and very windy.
You know what, for something different, I'm not going to write out my account of our day at Port Arthur; I've got three parts to this episode covering everything in very great detail!
So, go to: GTA - Port Arthur Penal Settlement - Part … And watch it for yourself!!! :)
Enjoy.