It would have been bad enough to be a convict back in 1822, sent halfway around the world from England to Australia. But for the repeat offenders, the recidivists, it was much worse. They may have found themselves sent (literally) through Hell’s Gates.
This is the name of the entrance to Macquarie Harbour in south western Tasmania. And home to a fearful prison
I’ve just started reading the above new book. It was sitting there in the new books section of my local library. I’ve been fascinated by what the wretched souls went through at the Harbour, so couldn’t believe it when I saw this book. Could it be about this very topic? A quick look at the back cover showed:
In October 1827, nine convicts who had endured years of unimaginable cruelty at the hands of the system opted for ‘state-assisted’ escape. Five terrified witnesses – their hands and feet bound – were forced to watch as the chained convicts seized Constable George Rex and drowned him in the tannin-stained waters of the harbour. When the sentence of death was pronounced upon them, the condemned prisoners uttered just one word in reply: Amen.
For twelve long years between 1822 and 1834, Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour was the most feared place in Australia. Clinging to the shores of the wild west coast of Tasmania and hemmed in on all sides by rugged uncharted wilderness, the environment itself formed the prison walls that confined the unfortunate convict re-offenders who were sent there. But the conditions were so brutal that many went mad, or chose death or a very uncertain escape into the bush rather than spend their time in this notorious place.
Based on detailed accounts from the time, Closing Hell’s Gates contains dozens of personal stories of the harsh and unforgiving life that people were forced to lead, both as convict and overseer, and in so doing reveals some startling insights about human nature when it is pushed to extremes.
(Quote also on the official web site too)
So far, it’s excellent. I feel cold and miserable already – but in an informed way – and I’m only a 60 pages in.