Unshackled at the Hobart Convict Penitentiary offers a unique and immersive experience of the convict era.
Guided Site Tour:
The highlight of your visit, this 90-minute guided tour is the only way to see the entirety of one Australia’s richest convict sites. Led by our knowledgeable and passionate volunteer guides, the tour takes you through historic courtrooms, subterranean tunnels, solitary convict cells and the gallows, offering unparalleled insight into the lives of those who lived and worked here.
The tour includes Pandemonium – A dynamic and immersive film experience that brings Tasmania’s convict years to life. Shown in the historic prison chapel where convicts themselves once sat, this experience takes place with the lights off to enhance the vivid narrative of the era.
Please note that navigating the site can be challenging due to multiple sets of steps, sandstone floors, and narrow stairs leading into the convict-built tunnels. If you have accessibility concerns, we recommend contacting us in advance to discuss how we can assist your visit.
The guided tour will end in the Convict Memorial, allowing you to further explore the convict stories, and delve deeper into the individuals who shaped Van Diemen’s Land.
Convict Memorial:
This digital history experience allows visitors to explore the lives of the 75,000 convicts transported to Tasmania between 1803 and 1853. Guests can trace individual stories and might even discover an image of what some of these convicts may have looked like, generated from the detailed description recorded on each convict’s criminal record.
Visitors to the Convict Memorial are invited to explore the museum rooms containing convict artefacts recovered from the Gaol, and hear some of Tasmania’s most colourful convict characters share their own stories in the Rogue’s Gallery.
For additional details about our Unshackled Tours, the Convict Memorial experience, Ghost Tours and Paranormal Investigations, please visit our Tour Info & Bookings Link.
A Brief History of the Hobart Penitentiary:
The Hobart Penitentiary began as the Hobart Prison Barracks in 1821, constructed to house convicts under sentence. In 1834, the Penitentiary Chapel was completed and became a centerpiece of the site.
Between 1803 and 1853, 75,000 convicts were transported to Van Diemen’s Land (modern-day Tasmania), with 62,500 of them being male. After 1821, all male convicts were processed here before being assigned labour roles across the island.
In 1857, as part of its ongoing evolution, two wings of the former Penitentiary Chapel were converted into courtrooms of the Supreme and Magistrates Court for ongoing legal proceedings, while one wing remained a prison chapel. The site also became home to the relocated Hobart Town gallows, where 32 individuals were executed between 1857 and 1946. The original gallows, situated in central Hobart, had been the site of 300-400 executions prior to their relocation.
While much of the Gaol was demolished in 1963, the Penitentiary Chapel remained, with the courts operational until 1983. Today, the Penitentiary Chapel and associated structures stand as a testament to Tasmania’s convict history.
“Australian history… is full of surprises, and adventures, and incongruities and contradictions, and incredibilities; but they are all true! They all happened.”
– Mark Twain, 1895
