Convict-Era Port Arthur: Misery of the Deepest Dye by David W Cameron

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Ex library copy with no external stickers. Stamp on author bio page is now covered with blank ex libris bookplate sticker. Interior and binding are still excellent.

An evocative narrative of the many tragedies that fell upon those who were forced to serve time in Port Arthur, one of the most remote and feared convict locations in Australia.

Detailing the development of the prison and its outlying stations, including its dreaded coal mines, and providing an account of the changing views on convict rehabilitation, Convict-era Port Arthur focuses on several individuals, telling the story through their eyes. Charles O'Hara Booth, a significant commandant of Port Arthur; Mark Jeffrey, a convict who became the grave-digger on the Island of the Dead; and William Thompson, who arrived just as the new probation system began and was forced to work in the treacherous coal mines.

Convict-era Port Arthur will, for the first time, provide a comprehensive history of the port, its horrors, and its changing role over a fifty-year period. In gripping detail, using the experiences and words of the convicts, soldiers and administrators who spent time there, David W. Cameron brings to life these deeply miserable days. (back cover)

Indexed with a comprehensive list of references.