Head in the Sky

Tonight, my mind is in Port Arthur (extra) because tonight's evening sky took me back. These skies don't look particularly similar here in the photos, but to my memory they are very similar. It was a magical evening.

Port Arthur was a penal settlement operating from the 1830s to the late 1870s. Being at the south end of the small and remote island of Tasmania, it was considered fairly inescapable- our own Alcatraz. Prisoners were subjected to physical and psychological punishment and it is known today as a place that witnessed incredible cruelty. It is open for tours, which I certainly recommend. 

However, in 1996 a gunman opened fire on tourists in the cafe, killing 35 and wounding another 25. This event led to community-backed changes to gun laws, restricting high capacity semi-automatic shotguns and rifles and raising requirements for gun ownership. An amnesty was also enacted to collect disused firearms from across the country. Inevitably, a black market in firearms does exist today, but generally, these laws mean we live in a relatively safe country and have not had a mass shooting since. I've not met an Australian who regrets these legal changes. 

Meanwhile, the perpetrator is currently serving thirty five life sentences plus 1,035 years without parole in the psychiatric wing of a Tasmanian prison. We don't have capital punishment either. Community attitudes to that are far more diverse...