From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Port Arthur is a town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is located approximately 60km south east of the state capital, Hobart, though it is approximately 120km by road.
Although it started as a timber station in 1830, it is best known for being a penal colony. From 1833, until around the 1850s, it was a destination for the hardest of convicted British criminals. The prison closed in 1877.
In 1979 it received funding to be preserved as a tourist destination, due to its historical significance.
On April 29, 1996, the small community was scarred by an event known as the Port Arthur massacre, where a man named Martin Bryant opened fire, murdering 35 people.
