Port Arthur is the largest and best-known memento to Australia's history as a penal colony. From 1830 to 1877 it served as a maximum security prison, usually for convicts sent to Australia who committed a second crime after their arrival in Australia. The word "crime", of course, is relative - stealing some apples or similar was considered a relevant crime. For the hardiest criminals, the building above served as an isolation prison of a type called "panopticum", where the wardens could watch the corridors of the prison from a central position in the radially structured building. Prisoners would wear felt shoes to avoid any noise, and even in church were isolated from each other in small cabins.

The prison was partially destroyed by fires in 1895/97, but the ruins and remaining buildings are still impressive. The site has an excellent information center with an exhibition on convict life. Port Arthur made the headlines of the world on April 28th, 1996, when a young man from Hobart ran amok with a gun on the site, killing 20 and wounding 12 people. Triggered by this event, Australia changed its gun laws, now among the strictest of the world.