From hellhole to haven: tourism development

Before Port Arthur was abandoned as a Prison in 1877, people was the potential tourist attraction. David Burn, who visited the Prison in 1842, was awed by the Peninsula’s beauty and believed that many would come to visit it. This opinion was not shared by all. For example, Anthony Trollope in 1872 declared that no man desired to see the “strange ruins” of Port Arthur.
After the Prison closed much of the property was put up for auction. However, most of the property was not sold until 1889. By this time, the area had become increasing popular and the prison buildings were in decay. As the Hobart Mercury proclaimed,"the buildings themselves are fast going to decay, and in a few years will attract nobody; for they will be ruins without anything to make them worthy of respect, or even remembrance."
The decay was seen as something positive as the Tasmanian population wished to distance themselves from the dark image of Port Arthur. Those who bought Port Arthur property began tearing down the buildings, the destruction was furthered by the fires of 1895 and 1897 which destroyed the old prison house, and earth tremors[9]. In place of the Prison Port Arthur, the town of Carnarvon was born. The town was named after the British Secretary of State and the population was said to be “refined and intellectual.” The town brought in many visitors as they encouraged boating, fishing and shooting in the natural beauty of the Peninsula. They again wished to remove the negative connation attached to the area.
Despite this wish, the haunting stories of Port Arthur prisoners and circulating ghost stories brought popularity to the remaining prison ruins. This was helped by the popular novels “For the Term of His Natural Life” (1874) by Marcus Clarke and “The Broad Arrow” (1859) by Caroline Leakey, which concerned themselves about convicts in Port Arthur.