Culture and Convicts

Tasmania is a melting pot of heritage and human resilience dating back to the darkest days and indeed the darkest corners of the 19th c. British Empire.

Just two decades ago a whispered taboo, convict ancestry is now a badge of honour. One that has shaped the life of almost every islander and still pervades every aspect of daily life.

In extraordinary contrast, the 21st century has thrust Tasmania into the bright lights of art and culture the likes of which has not been seen anywhere else in the world. The arrival of David Walsh’s MONA to worldwide acclaim put even modern-day marvels such as The Guggenheim into the shade.  All this and much more in an island the size of Ireland with a ninth the population.

In 2011, five of Tasmania’s Convict Sites were inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List. These form a riveting convict trail which can be easily followed in a ten-day or two week holiday. So powerful, authentic and seemingly untouched by time that it is quite possible to forget that you are still in the 21st Century, and not transported back in time some 150 years.