Day 9: Boxing Day in Australia

Boxing Day is a national holiday on the day after Christmas.  The celebration actually started in England as the day the churches opened their alms boxes and distributed the contents to the poor.  I am unsure about the alms boxes in today’s celebration but it is a big time holiday in Australia.

Today we drove to Port Arthur, Tasmania.  Port Arthur is a place of national significance for Australians.  Australia was originally settled and developed with the help of England who started sending their convicts to help build the country.  One of the first penal colonies was developed at Port Arthur and it was known as “hell on earth”.  The title came from the fact that the colony’s serious convicts were placed in total isolation.

The other fact about Port Arthur that you may have heard about occurred on April 26, 1996.  On that date the Port Arthur Massacre occurred when one man with a gun killed 35 people and wounded 19 others.  That incident led to the Australian Parliament banning gun ownership for all Australians (with some exceptions).

Main Prison Building in Port Arthur

Typical Isolation Cell.

Sent from England for little reason.

Little reason for being sent to prison in Australia.

Lavender fields in Port Arthur.

Lunch: Largest oysters I have ever eaten.