Pack of Thieves?

Port Arthur is a village and historic site in southern Tasmania, Australia. Between 1830 and 1877 it was a 19th-century penal settlement and is now an open-air museum. Once known as the inescapable prison, it is the best-preserved convict site in Australia and among the most significant convict era sites in the world.

In 1999, the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA) published this extraordinary deck of cards titled “Pack of Thieves? 52 Port Arthur Lives.”

The pack has 52 cards with 2 Jokers, and features the art work of Tom Samek, a local artist from Tasmania. Each card depicts the artist’s renderings of a documented named individual inmate. Full biographical details are provided in the accompanying 127-page book by Hamish Maxwell-Stewart and Susan Hood, which charts the lives of the 52 prisoners who served time in the 1830s.

Port Arthur started as a timber station and expanded throughout the following decades with the establishment of ship building, smithing, shoemaking and timber and brick making. All this work is displayed on the cards, and also the convicts' non-work activities such as fishing (Jack of Spades), drinking and playing cards.

Above: “Pack of Thieves? 52 Port Arthur Lives” playing cards with artwork by Tom Samek published by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA), Australia, c. 1999.

The backs of the cards show a short history of the convicts’ life featuring the chase and capture by British Police, the chain gang and finally the prison, the kangaroo and emu images of Australian life after deportation and arrival in Tasmania. The pip cards are arranged in non-standard patterns, with each card having a different illustration integrated into the design.

For more information about the artist and the story of the pack creation see here►