Tasmainia
Tassies History
Tasmania has many historic sites
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The Sarah Island Historic Site is Tasmania's oldest convict
settlement, operating from 1822 to 1833. Located on the
rugged west coast and separated from the settled east by a
vast tract of mountainous wilderness, Sarah Island was
proposed by Lt Governor Sorell as a "place of banishment
and security for the worst description of convicts" and as
such developed the reputation as one of the severest of the
penal settlements established during the history of
transportation.
However, the island was also a successful centre of industry. Pining and shipbuilding
were among the trades carried out by the convicts. Indeed, in its day, Sarah Island was
the largest shipbuilding yard in Australia.
