Since we were docked overnight we were able to get out and explore even more of what Tasmania's capital has to offer.

To learn more about this place we visited The Unshackled - Convict Memorial at the Hobart Penitentiary.

Between 1803 and 1853, 75,000 convicts were transported to Van Diemen’s Land (modern-day Tasmania), with 62,500 of them being male. The Hobart Convict Penitentiary, or as it was known by its inhabitants, the Tench, was built in the early 1830s to accommodate the growing number of convicts making their way into the colony. Designed by Civil Engineer John Lee Archer, over 50,000 male convicts had the misfortune of passing through these prisoners’ barracks. Once transportation of convicts had halted, the grounds were then used for other purposes such as Hobart’s Old Gaol (1857) and Supreme Court

We had always believed the prisoners sent to Australia were from England. We were surprised to see all the British colonies from where they came.

Enclosed by a high stone wall, the area originally covered a 2-acre block. In the shape of a cruciform, the complex included a chapel with 36 solitary confinement cells below its floor. The smallest of these cells were sealed up and deemed inhumane in 1847, as they had no light and were poorly ventilated.

In 1834, the Penitentiary Chapel was completed and became a centerpiece of the site. Separate entrances to the chapel were constructed for the prisoners and free inhabitants. While the free inhabitants would enter via the northern wing on a tower staircase and could reserve cedar pews for an annual fee, the prisoners would arrive via different wings and install themselves on hard, wooden benches. The chapel was never consecrated as a church, but was in full use by late 1833, and the final fitting completed in the following year.

Since prison cells were housed under the terraced pews, services were anything but peaceful. Complaints ensued regarding the disturbing noises from the solitary cells below, and ventilation was extremely poor.

In 1857 the Penitentiary was proclaimed a Gaol and House of Correction. An execution yard was installed and the first hanging took place on 18 August 1857. A total of 32 prisoners lost their lives by this means until the last Tasmanian hanging in 1946.

Our guide, Angela, pointed out proof of the efforts of the convicts. Bricks were marked, indicating who the craftsman was.

Finger indentations indicated where a brick had been stuck in its mold and had to be manually removed.

In 1859, sections of the chapel were converted into two Supreme Criminal Courts connected by tunnels to the gaol. Significant renovations were made to construct the courts, with the western transept retained as a chapel in almost its original state. Weekly services took place there all the way until 1961. The court rooms were first used in 1860 and served various judicial purposes until 1983. Only minor alterations were made during this time, keeping most of the construction intact.

There was an overwhelming amount of convict history shared during this 90 minute tour. It added so much richness to what we had heard previously at The Rocks. This was a part of history that locals feel needs to be known but aren't proud of. All of it was so incredibly interesting. Wow.

Our final Hobart history lesson was found at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG), Tasmania's leading natural and cultural heritage organization.

TMAG is Australia's second-oldest museum and has its origins in the collections of Australia's oldest scientific society, the Royal Society of Tasmania, established in 1843.  The precinct is one of Australia's most historically significant sites.  Included in the precinct is Tasmania's oldest surviving public building, the 1808-10 Commissariat Store; the Private Secretary's Cottage, built prior to 1815 and originally adjacent to old Government House; and Tasmania's first federal building, the 1902 Custom House.

Here we learned about the relationship between the Aboriginal Tasmanians and the Colonists. One event, we knew nothing about, was the Black War (1824-1832), a period of violent conflict between them, resulting in the near-extermination of the indigenous population.