The Asylum Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Trip to Tasmania – Day 6

Hobart to Tasman National Park and Port Arthur Historic Site – 100km along the Arthur Highway.

Port Arthur was a penal station established in 1830 as a timber-getting camp, producing sawn logs for government projects. After 1833 became a punishment station for repeat offenders from all the Australian Colonies.

Today’s posting is a view of the The Asylum.

The new Asylum was built to house 100 patients from Port Arthur and throughout Van Diemen’s Land. It represented the latest thinking in the treatment of “lunacy”. It tried to replace physical intimidation with mental reform. “Lunatics” were to be cured in a calm, clean environment, with kindness, exercise and amusement, religious consolation and work to soothe the mind. The new building, the “ideal asylum”, was designed to deliver this treatment and Port Arthur’s Asylum had many of its features. Most of the men in this Lunatic Asylum would today be diagnosed with depression, dementia or mental disability. Thomas Starkey believed he was 16,000 years old and John Burns “kept jumping up and down because he thought he had a snake up his jumper”.

In the Asylum, the room were spacious and well lighted; disruptive patients were isolated in single apartments. Attendants in the central hall had a clear view down all four wings. “Excellent baths” were provided and well behaved men could work in the gardens or sit along the front of the building in the sun. Violent patients took “air and exercise” in separate yards without disturbing others.

But elements of the prison remained. Patients still had to work as they washed clothes, collected firewood, gardened and cooked. Windows were too high to see out and the building was surrounded by a tall fence. Inmates ate together in the central hall, where the frightening behaviour of the disturbed patients shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

But despite its failings, the broken men here were luckier than those in Britain’s “madhouses”.

After closure the Asylum was badly damaged by bushfires in 1895 and rebuilt with major alterations. It was a Town Hall and community centre until the 1970s.

(In: Your guide to Port Arthur, published by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority).

ISO: 100

wgreis, lucasgalodoido, plimrn, dareco, PixelTerror, ktanska, riclopes has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

TopGeo (22509) 2009-07-28 0:01

Hi Antonio
Interesting picture Important architectural and natural beauty Good management of lighting and shades
compliments
ciao
Georgios

foozi (4761) 2009-07-28 0:12

Hi Antonio,
such an exciting shot with nice point of view chosen.
The lighting really enhancing, giving a great visual impact to the building.
Pleasant and lovely landscape.

Regards,
Foozi

papagolf21 (57029) 2009-07-28 1:08

Bonjour, mon ami Antonio,
Un grand merci de nous faire découvrir des trésors cachés en Australie !
L'architecture ne manque pas d'intérêt. J'aime la lumière dispensée sur le sujet principal.
Un sujet parfaitement traité.
Amitiés.
Philippe

burraburra (952) 2009-07-28 5:23

Hi Antonio,
Great POV. I the surrounding Austrlain gum trees. You have presented this very well. Nice sharpness as usual. Excellent notes. Thanks.
Regards,
Graham.

wgreis (6344) 2009-07-28 6:18

António,
surpreende a beleza do lugar e, mesmo de longe, a organização e limpeza do asilo.
Seu POV é privilegiado por mostrar áreas de rica vegetação do lugar.
Parabéns e abraços,
Wagner Reis.

xuaxo (5917) 2009-07-28 8:04

Olá António,
Bela vista do asilo, apesar da nitidez não parecer 100% perfeita.
Realmente parece que os lunáticos tinham um ambiente calmo, como diz na nota.
Cumprimentos,
Francisco

lucasgalodoido (16953) 2009-07-28 11:57

Olá Antônio,
uma nota interessante essa. pois vemos que os alienados aí receberam um tratamento bem diferente do Hospital Colônia aqui no Brasil, onde as maus tratos eram bem comuns, vale a pena ler a nota. Aqui no Brasil o termo Asilo é mais comum para os abrigos de velhos, largados por suas famílias ou as vezes nem às tem, por isso costuma ser um local bem triste e solitário, no caso de sua foto seria um hospício mesmo. Bela foto.
Parabéns e Abraço

plimrn (19892) 2009-07-28 14:05

Ola Antonio,
You managed the difficult light here very well, even managing to capture detail in the pale sky. The late light makes an attractive compo of sunlight and shadow and emphasizes the detail of the pretty asylum. Your note is fascinating as well.
SAA, Pat

dareco (17104) 2009-07-28 19:44

Your series from Tasmania is really awesome and I've learnt alot. A very nice pov here giving us a great view. Lovely lighting and excellent detail. TFS

emka (22841) 2009-07-29 0:00

Hi Antonio, Nice to see the place that it is so far away. Interesting architecture of this asylum (prison, in fact) lying in dense forest.
Nice colours.

regards

Malgorzata

PixelTerror (87215) 2009-07-29 0:08

Ola Antonio
Nice heritage building among the Tassie greens, idyllic place to spend lifetime sentence... The view seems a bit on the bright side
Have a nice day JY

ktanska (16759) 2009-07-29 0:53

Hi Antonio,
Beautiful place, excellent low angle light and good high viewpoint. Wonderful architecture especially on that tower. And good note that well describes history of the place.
Kari

ifege (2075) 2009-07-29 3:09

A great shot Antonio,
It is a different POV to I've seen it before and captures Port Arthur well although nothing can express the atmosphere and harsh conditions of the mid 19th century.
Regards
Ian

COSTANTINO (23487) 2009-08-03 12:13

Hello
Your photos have a simplicity and a beauty that bring your stamp.this church is lovely and the green high trees in the background give a different tone to your composition,simple lines and a rich nature
regards
Costantino

raszid62 (3709) 2009-08-03 23:18

Hello
Beauty calm place in beauty landscape. Very beauty building.Good colours and light.Splendid sharpness.
Best Regards
Joseph

phwall (5821) 2009-08-05 0:44

Hello Antonio,
A striking composition, the building surrounded by those beautiful gum trees looks so out of place with the surroundings yet so in keeping with the way the settlement was laid out and as you say in your note, so appropriate for the newer method of treating lunacy. What tales of horror this place must have seen.
Beautiful light you've chosen to photograph this scene.
A marvelous image, compliments.
Regards
Peter

mariacondinho (7) 2009-08-05 18:32

great shot and beautiful colours

jmdias (20213) 2009-08-18 17:55

antônio

uma linda construção no meio do bosque de eucaliptos, gosto da arquitetura, das cores e da luz. muito bom enquadramento e pov

abraços

jorge

Giorgio (8834) 2009-08-19 0:00

- Hi Antonio, I do not speak of the building itself and its functions but the picture is very beautiful and successful, these large trees that used to nest for the main subject, have greatly contributed to this success, anyway bravo!
Greetings.
giorgio

riclopes (33159) 2009-10-27 2:49

Muito bonita esta foto ao nível de cores e luz. Nem sempre o céu precisa de estar azulinho...Dá a ideia de ser mais uma igreja do que um asilo mas no fundo as duas coisas estão ligadas.
ric

Photo Information

Copyright: Antonio Ribeiro (ribeiroantonio) (22060)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-04-23
Categories: Architecture
Camera: Canon EOS30D, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS-USM, Hoya 77mm HMC Cir-Polarizer
Exposure: f/2.8, 1/200 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: Trip to Tasmania
Date Submitted: 2009-07-27 23:13