In 1822 this six-hectare (15-acre) island became Tasmania's first penal station. Its convicts laboured under the harshest conditions in nearby rainforest felling Huon pines for boat building. Of all the sites that might have been chosen, Macquarie Harbour would have been the most windswept and barren, but it was also the most secure.

Any convict trying to escape Sarah Island had not only to get across the harbour but to try and hack his way through the impenetrable rainforests of the west coast. In all, 112 convicts escaped, of whom 62 perished and nine were murdered by their fellow convicts. The remaining 41 were all eventually recaptured, four of them after spending some time in South America. Each man received an average of 40 lashes per year from the cat o' nine tails.

Today, the convict ruins give a chilling insight into the cruelties of convict life. A walking track links important sites. The best way to visit the site is via World Heritage Cruises, Gordon River Cruises, West Coast Yacht Charters, Strahan Marine Charters or your own vessel.