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A contemporary view off the Convict Railway.
A long history
of toil and
trouble
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Norfolk Bay Convict
Station was built in 1838 as Australia's first railway station.
Ships bound for Port Arthur from Hobart faced a dangerous journey
across Storm Bay and round Cape Raoul.
It was much safer to stay in the sheltered waters of Norfolk Bay,
unload at the Convict Station and then load goods and passengers
into rail carts and transport them five miles (8kms) across land
where they could be unloaded and rowed to Port Arthur. The Port
Arthur Historic site is a 10 minute drive away from the Norfolk Bay
Convict Station.
The carts were powered by men, convicts of course, who pushed the
heavy carts up hill and rode down hill. It would have been a hard
life but it was a sought after position - outdoors, away from the
worst of the overseers, active (probably no worse than football
training) and there was always the chance of a tip from a grateful
passenger or some easy pickings.
After Port Arthur closed in 1877 the building became the first
inn on the Peninsula and then, around 1900, it was converted into a
guest house and local post office operated by the same family for
over 40 years.
Major renovations have taken place since 1990 and the
house now has five comfortable guest bedrooms, three en suite and
two with their own private but detached bathrooms ( this means that
they are dedicated to their room - not shared by another room - but
are separate from the bedroom. Bathrobes are provided for privacy).
There is a lovely guest lounge for guest to spend time in and a dining room
for meals.
The included breakfast is a generous buffet continental one and
features our own home made jams and marmalades, home made breads and home-grown
fresh fruit in season and also our own preserves.
Come stay in living history and soak in the beauty of the place.
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