As popular as they are here,Australia's gun laws remain a target for America's NRA,with the lobby group's new hardline president attacking them again.
The conspiracy theories began right after Martin Bryant murdered 35 innocents. Two decades later,the delusions are still troubling a political leader.
Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman is defending a controversial proposal to water down gun laws ahead of Saturday's state election.
Port Arthur on one side,Tasman National Park on the other;Stewarts Bay Lodge has culture and nature in equal doses,writes Louise Southerden.
The infamous convict ruins tell dark and ghostly tales,writes Lee Atkinson.
Lee Atkinson discovers horror and beauty as she explores the country's World Heritage-listed convict sites.
With phantom companions never far away,Julie Miller searches the nation for its most haunted locations.
Rob McFarland puts his life in the hands of a stranger and explores an untamed Tasmanian coastline.
<b>Port Arthur</b><br><b>Superbly preserved collection of penal colony buildings</b><br>If there is one place in Tasmania which should be visited by every Australian it is Port Arthur. This magnificently preserved penal colony is a powerful reminder of Australia's early history. For just a moment forget the beautiful English trees,the neat paths and the manicured lawns and try to imagine what it must have been like to have lived in the teeming slums of London's East End,to have stolen a bolt of cotton,or some foodstuffs or been involved in some petty crime and,having been sentenced to seven years transportation,to have found yourself at the other end of the world in this god-forsaken institution. The scale of the punishment seems so out of proportion to the crimes which were committed. It is extraordinary to contemplate that 12 500 convicts served their time at Port Arthur between 1830 and 1877.