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“Hells Gates” is the name of the entrance to Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s remote west coast. The navigation channel is notoriously shallow and is only 84 metres wide at its narrowest point between Entrance Island on the left and Macquarie Heads on the far right. Especially in the nineteenth century, navigating the channel was hazardous. This, however, was not the reason for its name which derived instead from the fact that it was the entrance not simply to Macquarie Harbour but more specifically to Sarah Island.

Established in 1822 as a place of secondary punishment for convicts who re-offended after their arrival in the colony, Sarah Island was designed to be a Hell on Earth for those who were sent there. The intention was that the mere mention of its name would strike fear into every convict in the colony and be a dreaded warning of the fate that could befall any who stepped out of line.

For photographs and additional information on Sarah Island, see my images 0225 and 0226. For photographs and information related to the convict system in general (and to the Port Arthur penal settlement in particular), take a look at my images 0254 to 0262.

*The photograph was taken approaching the Harbour from the open ocean with the Entrance Island Lighthouse on the left. The lighthouse in the distance is on Button Island. Shortly before our arrival a small bushfire had broken out on the southern shore and, as if in imitation of the sulphurous fumes of Hell, smoke was drifting across the entrance to the harbour.

© Irwin Reynolds, all rights reserved. If you are interested in using one of my images or would like a high quality fine art print, please send an email to irwinreynolds@me.com.

Taken in: Australia / Tasmania / Macquarie Heads (show map)

Taken on: March 9, 2014

Tags:

Hell’s Gates

Hells Gates Tasmania

Macquarie Harbour

Sarah Island

west coast Tasmania

Tasmania

Entrance Island Tasmania

Entrance Island

Entrance Island Lighthouse

Macquarie Heads

Button Island Lighthouse

Tasmanian lighthouses

Australian lighthouses

hazardous navigation channels

dangerous navigation channels

World Heritage Cruises

Gordon River tours

Gordon River cruises

Macquarie Harbour penal settlement

Australian convict system

Australian transportation system

convicts in Australia

Australian penal settlements

Tasmanian penal settlements

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Camera: Canon EOS 550D, f/8.0, 1/250 sec, 85mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 550D
Lens:	EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	85mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Aperture 3.5.1
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