Sarah Island (Macquarie Harbour Penal Station)
Sarah Island
A small island in Macquarie Harbour, the penal station for Australia's most hardened convicts from 1822 to 1833, now marked by the ruins of the prison, bakehouse and solitary cells.
Sarah Island lies in the southeastern part of Macquarie Harbour. From 1822 it served as a prison for reoffending convicts and was notorious for its severity. Prisoners cut timber and built ships here, and the repeated escape attempts have been told in novels and stage plays. The island preserves stone ruins of the prison, the bakehouse and the single-cell solitary confinement blocks, with interpretive signs. Visitors usually land by Gordon River cruise, and a guide leads a roughly 45-minute talk about the escapes and the shipbuilding. You can also arrive by seaplane or private boat. The island is windy, so bring a windproof jacket.
Opening hours
Visit by island boat (check with boat company)
Nearby sights
- Hogarth Falls
- Strahan & Gordon River Cruise
- The Ship That Never Was
- West Coast Wilderness Railway
- Queenstown, Tasmania
- Horsetail Falls
- Lake Burbury
- Henty Dunes