Why this ride
It goes by way of Cascades Female Factory, Coal Mines Historic Site, Darlington Probation Station and back through Coal Mines Historic Site. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Port Arthur Historic Site and Darlington Probation Station · 657 km
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 657 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 30
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Port Arthur Historic Site
At the end of the Tasman Peninsula, south-east of Hobart, the ruins of Port Arthur sit on a quiet green bay surrounded by eucalyptus forest, and it is hard to imagine a more beautiful place for such a grim history. From 1830 to 1877 it was a penal settlement for convicts who had committed further crimes in the colonies, a place of hard labour, harsh punishment and, later, a model prison where silence and isolation were supposed to reform the mind. The great sandstone shell of the penitentiary, the church, the separate prison and the houses of officials still stand in the grounds, and the boat trip to the Isle of the Dead, where convicts and free settlers were buried, completes the picture. Port Arthur is one of the eleven Australian Convict Sites inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2010.
Read the complete Port Arthur Historic Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Port Arthur Historic Site is where the day begins. Next is Cascades Female Factory.
2. Cascades Female Factory
In the shadow of kunanyi, the mountain that rises behind Hobart, a set of high stone walls in South Hobart marks the site of the Cascades Female Factory, where thousands of women convicts transported from Britain and Ireland were held in the nineteenth century. They worked here at laundry, sewing and other labour, and some were punished with solitary confinement, hard work or shaved heads. Many arrived with children, and the death rate among infants was appallingly high. The factory is part of the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage listing, which includes eleven places across Australia that tell the story of the forced migration of convicts and the building of the colony.
Read the complete Cascades Female Factory write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cascades Female Factory comes up 64 km in. Next is Coal Mines Historic Site.
3. Coal Mines Historic Site
The worst convicts in Van Diemen's Land were sent to Port Arthur, and the worst of those were sent here. The Coal Mines on the Tasman Peninsula, in southeastern Tasmania, were established in the 1830s to supply coal to the colony and to punish repeat offenders with hard labour underground. Men worked in dark, damp shafts and tunnels, hauling coal in terrible conditions, and solitary cells were built for those who broke the rules. The site was closed in the 1840s, and today the ruins of the barracks, cells, chapel and mine shafts lie scattered among the eucalyptus forest beside the sea. It is one of eleven places that make up the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage property, listed in 2010.
Read the complete Coal Mines Historic Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
127 km in you reach Coal Mines Historic Site. Next is Darlington Probation Station.
4. Darlington Probation Station
Maria Island lies just off Tasmania's east coast, and Darlington is the little settlement on its sheltered north-western shore where convicts, officials and later Italian entrepreneurs left their mark. No cars are allowed on the island and no one lives there permanently, so what you find is a quiet bay, a scatter of Georgian buildings and a lot of wildlife. You reach it by passenger ferry from Triabunna on the mainland, and the crossing takes about half an hour.
Read the complete Darlington Probation Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Darlington Probation Station, about halfway. Next is back through Coal Mines Historic Site.
5. back through Coal Mines Historic Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Coal Mines Historic Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Coal Mines Historic Site sits at 255 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cascades Female Factory.
6. back through Cascades Female Factory
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cascades Female Factory write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cascades Female Factory comes up 318 km in. Next is Port Arthur Historic Site.
7. Port Arthur Historic Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Port Arthur Historic Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Port Arthur Historic Site closes the day.
Leg by leg
Port Arthur Historic Site to Cascades Female Factory
Port Arthur Historic Site → Cascades Female Factory is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cascades Female Factory to Coal Mines Historic Site
Cascades Female Factory → Coal Mines Historic Site is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Coal Mines Historic Site to Darlington Probation Station
Coal Mines Historic Site → Darlington Probation Station is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Darlington Probation Station to back through Coal Mines Historic Site
Darlington Probation Station → back through Coal Mines Historic Site is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Coal Mines Historic Site to back through Cascades Female Factory
back through Coal Mines Historic Site → back through Cascades Female Factory is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cascades Female Factory to Port Arthur Historic Site
back through Cascades Female Factory → Port Arthur Historic Site is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.