PROJECT INFORMATION

The Port Arthur resort is a new 60 room premier tourist development, located on a hillside overlooking the historic Port Arthur penal settlement. This development will replace an inappropriate 1970’s Motor Inn which was constructed on the site prior to the establishment of the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority.

The new development comprises a series of ecologically innovative conservatories set as separate pavilions into a new recreated cultural landscape using genetically original historic plants. These cultural ‘potagers’ will reinterpret the colonial gardens that were formerly tended by convicts, and the pavilions will tell the individual stories of the lives of 60 of them. The dialogue between memory and reality promises to be engaging at many different levels.

“Overall, the Morris Nunn + Associates / PTW scheme is a thoughtful, highly innovative and sympathetic concept. The proposal reflects the historic themes and visual character of Port Arthur’s past, while providing an intriguing and engaging potential next chapter in the evolving landscape of this major site.

The proposal involves removal of the major visual intrusion to the site’s landscape and its replacement with a series of built forms with better utility, less visual impact and considerably enhanced interpretive potential. The proposal offers a concept that has no parallels of which I am aware, and provides a real opportunity for continued innovative best practice at Port Arthur.”

- Prof. Richard Mackay Heritage Assessment Director Godden Mackay Logan