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The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce

Director: Rowland, Michael James
Year: 2008
Type: Film
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Synopsis

In 1822 eight convicts escaped from Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania), which was the most isolated penal colony on earth. Only one man, Alexander Pearce, survived the overland trek toward Hobart and the story of cannibalism that he recounts in his confession is shocking to the core.

Narrative Locations

Gordon River, South West Wilderness, Tasmania  

Temporal setting: 1822

Location notes:

Pearce thought he crossed the Franklin River but it is more likely they were further North than they thought and that the group actually crossed the Gordon River. 

Shooting Locations

Nelson Falls, South West Wilderness, Tasmania

Nelson Falls, located in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, is the shooting location for the river-crossing scene.

Gallery


Hobart Town, Hobart and the South, Tasmania  

Temporal setting: 1824

Shooting Locations

Old Sydney Town, Somersby, Central Coast, New South Wales

Many of the colonial township exteriors were shot at a former colonial heritage theme park or open air museum called Old Sydney Town, at Somersby near Gosford, New South Wales. The Town was set out according to a map of Sydney in 1803 and consisted of over 30 authentically reconstructed buildings.


Murray Street Gaol, Hobart, Hobart and the South, Tasmania  

Temporal setting: 1824

Location notes:

Murray Street was the site of Hobart Town's gaol until 1827

The small, two-story Hobart Town Gaol on Murray Street was in use until 1857.It is where Alexander Pearce gave his confession.

Shooting Locations

Rozelle Hospital, Sydney, Sydney region, New South Wales

The cell scenes in the film were shot in the old Rozelle Hospital in Sydney, which was once an asylum for the clinically insane and for Irish political prisoners. 


Sarah Island Penal Colony, South West Wilderness, Tasmania  

Temporal setting: Circa 1822

Location notes:

Sarah Island in Tasmania's Macquarie Harbour operated as a penal colony for overly violent and formerly escaped convicts between 1822 and 1833. It is generally regarded as having been one of the country's most extreme penal stations. Today the station's ruins remain as the Sarah Island Historic Site, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

Shooting Locations

Derwent Bridge, South West Wilderness, Tasmania

Derwent Bridge was the shooting location for Sarah Island penal colony.

Gallery


Tasmanian Wilderness, South West Wilderness, Tasmania  

Temporal setting: 1822

Location notes:

Alexander Pearce travelled with other escaped convicts from Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania's Western coast to Hobart, facing adverse environmental conditions.

Shooting Locations

Mount Wellington, Hobart, Hobart and the South, Tasmania

Mount Wellington was used as a shooting location for part of the convicts' journey across Tasmania.

Tahune Forest Reserve, Hobart and the South, Tasmania

Tahune Forest Reserve was a shooting location for the convicts' journey. It was used for dense forest shots, utilising the landscape minutes from the popular Tahune Air Walk.

Lake St Clair, Hobart and the South, Tasmania

Lake St Claire was a shooting location for the convicts' journey, despite being located further north than the convicts travelled.




Content


Synopsis
Narrative Locations
Map

Related Texts


For the Term of his Natural Life (Dawn, Norman, 1927)
Van Diemen's Land (Auf Der Heide, Jonathan, 2009)

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