Macquarie Harbour Penal Station
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Macquarie Harbour Penal Station
Step-by-step guidance using the Australia system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Gallery
From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).
Photo by Scott Davis via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Photo by {{JarrahTree}} via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5 au)
Photo by Scott Davis via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Photo by Scott Davis via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Photo by Dr Rocks from Canberra, Australia via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Photo by Steven Penton from Bakers Beach, Tasmania Australia via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Photo by Steven Penton from Bakers Beach, Tasmania Australia via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Photo by PelionClimber via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Background
The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former British colonial penal settlement, established on Sarah Island, Macquarie Harbour, in the former Penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, operated between 1822 and 1833. The settlement housed male convicts, with a small number of women housed on a nearby island. During its 11 years of operation, the penal colony achieved a reputation as one of the harshest penal settlements in the Australian colonies. The former penal station is located on the eight-hectare (twenty-acre) Sarah Island that now operates as a historic site under the direction of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
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Current population
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Occupancy
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Year opened
1822
Closed 1833
Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology
Facility profile
Operator
Government of the United KingdomPopulation held
Mixed/unknown
Opened
1822
Region
—
Security level
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Death-row facility
No
Conditions
No conditions summary available yet.
Visiting
No visiting information available.
Mailing
No mailing information available.
Practical info
Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.
Known issues
No major issues documented in our database.
Contact & address
No public contact details available.
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
Related facilities
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
- Barwon PrisonLara, VictoriaMaximumState maximum-security93% occupancy
- Long Bay Correctional ComplexMalabar, SydneyMixedState complex98% occupancy
- South Coast Correctional CentreNowra HillMixedMinimum to maximum security
- Langi Kal Kal PrisonLangi Kal KalMinimumMinimum security
- Ouyen Community Correction Services
- Acacia PrisonWoorolooMediumMedium security
Data completeness
20%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata (Q1756121)
- Wikipedia
- Wikimedia Commons
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.
Cite this page
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
World Prisons. (2026). Macquarie Harbour Penal Station. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/macquarie-harbour-penal-station
"Macquarie Harbour Penal Station." World Prisons. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/macquarie-harbour-penal-station.
@misc{worldprisons-macquarie-harbour-penal-sta,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {Macquarie Harbour Penal Station},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/macquarie-harbour-penal-station},
urldate = {2026-10-20}
}