Home :: Just Tassie Books :: Closing Hell's Gates - the death of a convict station
Printable version

Closing Hell's Gates - the death of a convict station

Closing Hell's Gates - the death of a convict station
 
(0 reviews)  

Based on an elaborate reconstruction of day-to-day life at Macquarie Harbour, one of Australia's most notorious sites of convict punishment, this is the true story of how, in 1827, nine convicts opted for 'state-assisted' escape (the death sentence) rather than endure the hardships and privations of the penal settlement on Sarah Island.

For twelve years between 1822 and 1834, Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land was the most feared place in Australia. Clinging to the shores of the wild west coast of Tasmania and hemmed in on all sides by rugged uncharted wilderness, the environment itself formed the prison walls that confined the unfortunate convict re-offenders who were sent there. But the conditions were so brutal that many went mad, or chose death or a very uncertain escape into the bush rather than spend their time in this notorious place.

Based on detailed accounts from the time, Closing Hell's Gates contains dozens of personal stories of the harsh and unforgiving life that people were forced to lead, both as convict and overseer, and in so doing reveals some startling insights about human nature when it is pushed to extremes.

Published: 2008
Format: softcover
Pages: 312
Indexed
SKU SKU18515
Quantity in stock 1 item(s) available
Weight 0.60 kg
Author Hamish Maxwell-Stewart
ISBN 9781741751499
 
Our price: AUD 24.95
including GST 10.00 % ( AUD 2.27 )
Click here to be notified of price drops of this item
 
Quantity (1 available)
Colour and Movement - the life of Claudio Alcorso
Death at Sea - the Bass Strait ferry tragedy
Legacy of a Norfolk Plains Convict - William Webb
Colour and Movement - the life of Claudio Alcorso Death at Sea - the Bass Strait ferry tragedy Legacy of a Norfolk Plains Convict - William Webb
AUD 49.95
AUD 24.95
AUD 29.95
 
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner...
Places of Leisure in Launceston
On the Kindness of Strangers and other essays
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner... Places of Leisure in Launceston On the Kindness of Strangers and other essays
AUD 34.95
AUD 35.00
AUD 55.00
 
Living on the Land
Milking Time
Matthew Brady Van Diemen's Land Bushranger
Living on the Land Milking Time Matthew Brady Van Diemen's Land Bushranger
AUD 32.00
AUD 34.99
AUD 19.50
There have been no reviews

Add your own review