xenith | I had to come to it eventually

One large, yellow brick building by the sea.

So, why my aversion to photographs of this building? It is everywhere. Postcard racks. Tourism brochures. Shelves & walls of gift shops and information centres. Not just on the Tasman Peninsula but all through the state, and beyond probably. Books, in ordinary bookshops. Ebay. And websites of tourist organisations and ever bloody tourist who's ever visited the state.

It's understandable. With the orange/yellow walls that seem to glow and the contrasting black, barred windows and the emptiness behind them, that is four storeys of rather awesome ruinness which dominates the landscape. I certainly took more than enough photos of it.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the most photographed buildings in the country. Although the church used to be "the" photo until recent decades, so maybe not. It does have an advantage over most of the nation's "iconic" buildings in that it's been photographed ever since visitors had cameras to take photos with (of course, photos were b&w and it wasn't a ruin then).

I think when an image becomes so familiar, it loses any meaning (a cliched image?). So it becomes just a big orange thing that isn't anything. What it was though, was a granary and flour mill, built in the 1840s and powered by water and the much-hated treadmill. Said to be the biggest building in the colony when it was built. I don't think it worked particularly well as flour mill, but you think I can remember why?

In the 1850s, with the closure of Norfolk Island, the building was converted to prisoner accommodation. From my little yellow book by Ian Brand:

A survey showed 210 could be accommodated at Port Arthur, 117 at Cascade (now Koonya), 300 at Impression Bay (now Premaydena), and 100 at Saltwater River. One hundred of the worst of these would form an 'ultra-penal settlement' at Port Arthur. This would require special accommodation and the conversion of part of the Granary was proposed.

(A window through a doorway! Have you noticed my fondness for taking photos through doorways and windows? This photo makes me very happy)

In the newly converted penitentiary, there was a dormitory, rows of solitary cells, a very long mess room, library, kitchen, laundry, wash houses and everything else required to accommodate a large number of men, and also the Catholic chapel.

In later years it was a recreation hall, and it burnt down during one of the bushfires.

There are many photos of relatively intact interior before it was destroyed. Some of them here.