An engineering report has revealed the penitentiary, regarded as the centrepiece of the Port Arthur Historic Site, is showing signs of serious decay.
A LANDMARK building at the World Heritage-listed Port Arthur site is in such poor condition that it needs an estimated $6 million of emergency restoration work.
An engineering report has revealed that The Penitentiary, regarded as the centrepiece of the historic site that attracts more than 250,000 tourists a year, is showing signs of serious decay.
Rumney MLC Tony Mulder raised concerns about the building after the report revealed the extent of structural repairs needed. Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority chairman Barry Jones said much of the building failed to meet modern load standards.
"If we had ferocious wind activity or a serious storm surge, it could do an awful lot of damage," he said.
"It is not looking too flash."
Mr Jones said the safety of tourists and staff was paramount.
Mr Mulder said the building was the iconic picture for Tasmanian tourism.
"Before MONA, it was the most visited site in Tasmania," he said. "It would be a travesty for it to fall into total ruin because of a lack of funding."
Mr Jones said the historic significance of the convict site, placed on the World Heritage List in 2010, could not be overestimated.
"It is an iconic building that is essential to our understanding of how Tasmania evolved," he said. A sophisticated metal structure was placed inside the penitentiary in the early 1980s to help hold up the building.
Mr Jones said deliberate shoddy workmanship by convicts was also contributing to the building's degeneration.
"Convicts sabotaged the building by mixing the mortar with saltwater," Mr Jones said.
Restoration work would include an underground concrete slab and series of steel columns to help support the structure.
Mr Jones said the Port Arthur authority which already receives funding of $2 million a year from the Tasmanian Government would ask for more financial assistance from the state's taxpayers.
He said the Federal Government had already been approached but was under no obligation to provide funds even though the site was on the World Heritage List.
Mr Jones said the complexities of the work could mean that the final bill exceeded the already costly estimate.
"Let's hope we can do it for $6 million."
matthew.smith@news.com.au
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