Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L01891:body:0:p184
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L01891
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 523425–526413

of the commissariat store.

It is an outstanding representation of evolving convict management, clearly
demonstrating the key features and design of a probation station for refractory
convicts.

The operation of the probation station and the hierarchy of the management is
demonstrated by the remains of the commandant's house located on the rise
midway between the main convict barracks and the coal mines, the
relationship of officers' quarters with overseers' quarters and prisoner
accommodation, the roadways between the mine, dormitories, wharves and
jetties, and the semaphore sites at Coal Mines Hill and Mt Stewart. Ruins of
officers' quarters, guard houses, and the bakehouse are evident near the
convict barracks.

Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area—Heritage Management Plan, April 2016

Authorised Version F2016L01891 registered 09/12/2016

16 Special Gazette

(a)

(b)

(©)

Continued

the place has
outstanding heritage
value to the nation
because of the place's
possession of
uncommon, rare or
endangered aspects of
Australia's natural or
cultural history.

the place has
outstanding heritage
value to the nation
because of the place's
potential to yield
information that will
contribute to an
understanding of
Australia's natural or
cultural history.

Jean Rice Architect | CONTEXT | GML Heritage

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette
No. S141, 1 August 2007

The Coal Mines Historic Site contains the ruins of three types of prisoner
accommodation, the convict barracks with solitary punishment cells, 18 cells of
the 1845-6 alternating separate cell complex used for solitary confinement
punishment, and the site of 108 separate convict apartments built in 1847, all of
which demonstrate the classification system. The latter accommodation was
used for isolating the prisoners at night. The importance of the church for the
reform and moral development of convicts is evidenced in the ruins of the
chapel located between the two convict barracks. Ruins of the catechist's house
are located some distance from the main barracks complex.

The Coal Mines was considered a most severe place of convict punishment.
The high number of solitary cells, floggings and solitary confinements indicate
a comparatively high record of additional punishment. The colonial
administration and Tasmanian community also considered the place as among
the worst for homosexuality - homosexuality figured prominently in the anti-
transportation debate and was noted in the report prepared for the United
Kingdom Prime Minister William Gladstone by Charles La Trobe in 1847.
With the place's dual reputation for harshness and immoral activity, it
contributed to the failure of the probation system and its demise.

The Coal Mines is one of the few Australian convict sites which outstandingly
represent the economic role of convicts. It is rare as the only surviving penal
coal mines with coherent surface remains. The place contains features related
to the extraction of coal including coal