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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 Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Heritage Studies, Convict History
Research Division:	History and Archaeology
Research Group:	Historical Studies
Research Field:	Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History)
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society
Author:	Maxwell-Stewart, H (Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart)
ID Code:	87767
Year Published:	2013
Funding Support:	Australian Research Council (DP1112756)
Deposited By:	Humanities
Deposited On:	2013-12-04
Last Modified:	2014-07-22
Downloads:	3 View Download Statistics