At the, the settlement of Eaglehawk Neck had a population of 338. Locally known as the Neck, the isthmus itself is around long and under wide at its narrowest point. The area features rugged terrain and several unusual geological formations. These include the Tessellated Pavement, an area of flat rock that looks to be manmade but is in fact formed by erosion. A short walk further via Lufra Cove leads to Clyde Island, accessible for crossings at low tide, which sits at the northern entry to Pirates Bay. The island hosts two grave sites, and a rumbling blow hole cleaves the island. Eaglehawk Neck offers accommodation at Lufra Hotel and Apartments, near the Tessellated Pavement, and at various b&b's. A nearby footpath leads to Martin Cash's lookout near the top of the hill at the southern end. Eaglehawk Neck is a well-known local holiday destination. On the eastern side, a beach that stretches around Pirates' Bay is a popular surfing area. In summer the population rises as people return to their holiday homes.
As the Eaglehawk Neck forms a natural thin gateway between the peninsulas, it was used by the British as a place to stop convicts attempting to escape from Port Arthur and other penal institutions on the Tasman Peninsula. A system was developed where a line of dogs were chained to posts across the 'Neck' to warn of any convicts attempting to escape. The Dog Line was first implemented in 1831 and was used till the closure of Port Arthur in the 1870s. Thomas J. Lempriere, a commissary officer at Port Arthur, declared the Eaglehawk Neck as 'impassable'. Despite this, many attempts were made by convicts to escape from the Tasman Peninsula via Eaglehawk Neck, including Martin Cash and William Bannon. The area was heavily patrolled by soldiers, and the guards' quarters still remains as a museum. The isthmus now provides road access via the Arthur Highway to Port Arthur, part of the Australian Convict Sites, a World Heritage Site that comprises eleven remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips. Collectively, these sites, including Port Arthur, now represent, "...the best surviving examples of large-scale penal transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts."
