Over the years, since it closed in 1877, Port Arthur has been the subject of much -representation. Phrases like "brutal treatment" and "savage punishment" are still commonly used in talking and writing about the penal settlement, and, as a result, visitors have received a distorted view of Port Arthur and the treatment which prisoners there received. This is not to say that punishment was not severe. It was, but it must be remembered that prisoners sent to the penal settlements were normally hardened criminals. This book has been prepared to present a balanced view of Port Arthur and its allied stations on Tasman Peninsula. It is based on original documents of 1830 - 1877, wherever possible, rather than the faulty memories of visitors recorded many years