The weathered ruins of the convict barracks near Highfield, just outside the little port town of Stanley, ooze romance with soaring views over Tasmania’s rugged northwest coast. But they belie a darker time.

They housed a group of convicts assigned to construct Highfield, the first HQ of the Van Diemen’s Land Company and the first European occupation in this part of the island. The grand Regency-era house at the centre of the Highfield Historic Site, which was built in 1826 by the convicts, remains in excellent condition.

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