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'The Lottery of Life': Convict Tourism at Port Arthur Historic Site, Australia
Citation
Maxwell-Stewart, H, 'The Lottery of Life': Convict Tourism at Port Arthur Historic Site, Australia, Prison Service Journal, 2013, (210) pp. 24-28. ISSN 0300-3558 (2013) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Crown Copyright 2013
Official URL: http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandju...
Abstract
This article will explore the design process behind
the ‘Lottery of Life’ interpretation gallery opened
at the Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmania, in 1999. A
penal station designed as a site of discipline for
secondarily convicted and recalcitrant convicts, Port
Arthur operated from 1830-1877. Following its
closure as a corrective institution it became a
significant tourist destination. As such it has a long
history of prison tourism. Prior to the opening of
the 1999 exhibition, a number of prominent
Australian historians and writers attacked the
interpretation of convict and institutional life in this
ultra-coercive penal station. The local criticism
levelled at the site shared much in common with
wider critiques of heritage tourism in the Englishspeaking
world. The construction of a new visitor
centre and interpretation gallery presented an
opportunity to try and address some of the
concerns levelled in the local and international
literature. It also provided a rare chance to turn
academic findings into an interactive display that
could communicate a complex picture of penal
station life to a diverse audience.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | Heritage Studies, Convict History |
Research Division: | History, Heritage and Archaeology |
Research Group: | Historical studies |
Research Field: | Australian history |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in human society |
UTAS Author: | Maxwell-Stewart, H (Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart) |
ID Code: | 87767 |
Year Published: | 2013 |
Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (DP1112756) |
Deposited By: | School of Humanities |
Deposited On: | 2013-12-04 |
Last Modified: | 2014-07-22 |
Downloads: | 3 View Download Statistics |
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