State Budget preview: Port Arthur Historic site cashes in

The iconic Port Arthur Historic Site is set to benefit from a funding boost when this week’s state budget is revealed. Here’s what it’ll go towards.

Port Arthur Historic Site. Guests at Stewarts Bay Beach House can walk around the foreshore to the Port Arthur Historic Site. Picture: Linda Smith

One of Australia’s top heritage and tourism sites, the iconic Port Arthur Historic Site, will get a $16m funding boost in this week’s State Budget.

The money will be used to upgrade water and sewerage services for businesses and residents on the Tasman Peninsula over the next two years.

After suffering an almost 90 per cent drop in visitors due to border closures during the Covid pandemic, the historic site had 333,068 total day visitors in 2023-24 an increase on the previous year.

Arts Minister Madeleine Ogilvie, said the investment would enable the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA) to carry out essential upgrades while attracting visitors for years to come.

“In addition to servicing the UNESCO World Heritage Site, PAHSMA provides water and sewerage services to a number of local businesses and residents on the Tasman Peninsula,” she said.

“These upgrades are critical to supporting growth for both the local community and tourism sector.

“Not only will this funding ensure the Port Arthur Historic Site remains a safe, accessible, and sustainable destination for the thousands of visitors it welcomes each year, but this investment will also provide certainty to local businesses and residents, including the Port Arthur Motor Inn, NRMA Caravan Park, Stewarts Bay Lodge, and Port Arthur General Store.”

Ms Ogilvie said the $16m investment meant that PAHSMA could focus on its core mission of conserving, maintaining and interpreting the world-renowned site.

“The upgrades will enhance PAHSMA’s capacity to continue delivering outstanding visitor experiences, supporting local businesses, and preserving Tasmania’s rich cultural heritage for future generations,” she said.

Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority CEO Will Flamsteed. Picture: Linda Higginson

PAHSMA CEO Will Flamsteed welcomed the funding to help upgrade the water and sewerage services on the Peninsula.

“Importantly for us here at the Port Arthur Historic Site, it puts us a step closer to our ultimate goal of handing over the delivery of these services to the experts at TasWater,” he said.

“It’s a little known fact that PAHSMA has the job of delivering these water and sewerage services, but it is also a distraction from our core responsibility of protecting our history.

“We want to be able to put 100 per cent of our attention into conserving and sharing our extraordinary history at our convict World Heritage Sites. “

Almost 200 people are employed by PAHSMA at Port Arthur, the Coal Mines Site and the Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart.

The State Budget will be handed down on Thursday.

Treasurer Michael Ferguson said it would create jobs with ongoing investment in economically-productive infrastructure while delivering increased funding for cost of living, health and housing.

“It will ensure Tasmania continues to be strong, healthy and safe,” he said.

Originally published as State Budget preview: Port Arthur Historic site cashes in