'The Lottery of Life': Convict Tourism at Port Arthur Historic Site, Australia

This article will explore the design process behind the ‘Lottery of Life’ interpretation gallery opened at the Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmania, in 1999. A penal station designed as a site of discipline for secondarily convicted and recalcitrant convicts, Port Arthur operated from 1830-1877. Following its closure as a corrective institution it became a significant tourist destination. As such it has a long history of prison tourism. Prior to the opening of the 1999 exhibition, a number of prominent Australian historians and writers attacked the interpretation of convict and institutional life in this ultra-coercive penal station. The local criticism levelled at the site shared much in common with wider critiques of heritage tourism in the Englishspeaking world. The construction of a new visitor centre and interpretation gallery presented an opportunity to try and address some of the concerns levelled in the local and international literature. It also provided a rare chance to turn academic findings into an interactive display that could communicate a complex picture of penal station life to a diverse audience.