The Church (interior)_img 0256
Walter B. Pridmore, an historian and former guide at the Port Arthur Historic Site writes, “The church could accommodate 1,000 worshipers but it was not consecrated because it was multi-denominational. The convicts, who entered the building through the doors at either end of the building, were seated on benches and the 200 free people were accommodated in pews. The free entered the church via the main entrance and passed under a huge three-tiered pulpit to an area screened off from the convicts. . . . . The entry foyer now contains seven of what was originally a peel of eight bells that hung in the belfry. They are believed to be the first bells cast in Australia and were poured at the Port Arthur foundry in 1847.” Port Arthur: Convicts and Commandants page 34.
The church was gutted by fire in 1884, some 7 years after the settlement ceased to operate as a penal station.
Note: For more more photographs and additional information about Port Arthur, see my other images in this series (images 0254 to 0264)
© Irwin Reynolds, all rights reserved. If you are interested in using one of my images or would like a high quality fine art print, please send an email to irwinreynolds@me.com.
The Church (interior)_img 0256
Walter B. Pridmore, an historian and former guide at the Port Arthur Historic Site writes, “The church could accommodate 1,000 worshipers but it was not consecrated because it was multi-denominational. The convicts, who entered the building through the doors at either end of the building, were seated on benches and the 200 free people were accommodated in pews. The free entered the church via the main entrance and passed under a huge three-tiered pulpit to an area screened off from the convicts. . . . . The entry foyer now contains seven of what was originally a peel of eight bells that hung in the belfry. They are believed to be the first bells cast in Australia and were poured at the Port Arthur foundry in 1847.” Port Arthur: Convicts and Commandants page 34.
The church was gutted by fire in 1884, some 7 years after the settlement ceased to operate as a penal station.
Note: For more more photographs and additional information about Port Arthur, see my other images in this series (images 0254 to 0264)
© Irwin Reynolds, all rights reserved. If you are interested in using one of my images or would like a high quality fine art print, please send an email to irwinreynolds@me.com.