The mess hall at Koonya

Koonya
A fascinating convict outstation once known as Cascades
It is easy to forget that Port Arthur was not an isolated settlement. The whole of the Tasman Peninsula - Saltwater River, Port Arthur, Koonya, Eaglehawk Neck and Taranna - was all part of a larger penal colony. Port Arthur may have been the largest and most sophisticated of the settlements but the other places were important and well developed outstations.

Today Koonya (once known as the convict outstation of Cascades) offers a rare opportunity to spend some time living in a convict settlement and experiencing the lifestyle of a nineteenth century penal institution - albeit with all the modern comforts.

Located 95 km from Hobart and only 15 km from Port Arthur, Koonya is now literally nothing more than a few isolated houses and a superbly restored penitentiary comprising a hospital, officer's quarters, workshops, chapel, stone quarries, cell blocks and overseer's quarters set between the mountains and the sea. It is an exquisite setting and the accommodation is unique.

Cascades was established as a convict outstation in 1841 and by 1846 there were nearly 400 convicts working in the area. In his book Experiences of a Convict, John Frederick Mortlock, describes the lifestyle: 'standing on a narrow, shallow inlet, hemmed in by almost impervious, thickly wooded, broken ranges, I soon found myself hard at work, felling an enormous gum-tree, two hundred feet high, whose hollow base would have sheltered a dozen men. This, with digging up of potatoes, and the carrying bundles of shingles (a small, narrow, thin piece of wood used instead of slates, for roofing) some miles through the rugged bush down to the jetty, was my first experience of Van Diemen's Land.'

Cascades was a remarkably complete settlement.

Things to see:  

The Wooden Railway
The convicts built a wooden railway from the mountains to the sea to bring the felled logs out of the forests. It is now no longer in evidence. However the people who host the Cascades Colonial Accommodation have walks into the mountains which point out the places where the convicts worked.

The workshops at Koonya

Historic Buildings
The buildings in the area include the old hospital on one side of the road (it is a large two storey Georgian building set in an apple grove and capable of accommodating six people) and the workshop, mess hall, and officer's quarters in a group of buildings on the other side of the road. The workshop has been turned into a small museum and the officer's quarters, three connected cottages, have been converted into superb colonial accommodation. They won an Australian Heritage award in 1986.

Koonya is a unique holiday experience. The rooms have been superbly restored, the setting is charming, the walks to the mountains and to the sea are fascinating, and the old buildings form one of the finest collections of early nineteenth century structures on the island.

	Cottages & Cabins
	Boronia Cottage 838 Back Rd Koonya TAS 7187 Telephone: (02) 6250 3509 Rating: ***
	The Cascades Colonial Accommodation Main Rd Koonya Koonya TAS 7187 Telephone: (03) 6250 3121 Rating: ****
	Farm & Eco Holidays
	Tower Farm RSD 1373 Firetower Rd Koonya TAS 7187 Telephone: (03) 6250 3364 Rating: ***
	Lodges & Chalets
	Seaview Lodge RMB 1183 Via Main Rd Koonya TAS 7187 Telephone: (03) 6250 2766