Ghosts of the Anthropocene: spectral accretions at the Port Arthur historic site

Abstract

As a place of heritage, the Port Arthur Historic Site in Tasmania, Australia, provides a substantial representation of a colonial landscape. Principally associated with Australia’s convict history, the vestiges that are found there today take the form of extant buildings, shorelines, cemeteries, exercise yards and cells. Port Arthur is also thought to harbour less-tangible residues of its pasts in the form of ghostly apparitions and atmospheres. Indeed, it is often referred to as being one of the most haunted places in Australia. However, rather than focus on the supernatural traces of some of the deviant criminals once imprisoned there, this article will take a broader account of ‘ghosts’ to consider the interrelations between human and nonhumans in the Anthropocene. To do so, we look to the abiding, ‘haunting’ presence of ‘arboreal-others’ in order to re-enliven our understanding of Port Arthur’s pasts and reimagine their role in its present and future.