No, the last convicts were sent to Tasmania in 1853.

The busiest years were the early 1840's, with a peak of 5,329 arrivals in 1842. The convict population exceeded 30,000 by the middle of that decade, representing 47% of the Tasmanian population.

After transportation ceased, this figure decreased rapidly to 1.7% in 1860, and the Port Arthur penal settlement closed in 1877.

Although the most famous convict site, Port Arthur was neither the first nor the only one. Others included Sarah Island near Strahan and on Maria Island. Conditions at the Sarah Island settlement were particularly harsh - convicts sometimes struck suicide pacts where one would kill the other and then be transported to Hobart to face the gallows.

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Last reviewed 2006-08-06 12:44:23