Construction: Stories From The Gladstone Gaol - Part 2

Construction:
Stories From The Gladstone Gaol -Part 2

In South Australia's Mid North, approximately 221 km from Adelaide, sits the town of Gladstone. On Ward Street, on the western side of town, stands the imposing Gladstone Gaol.

The gaol was constructed between 1879 and 1881 at a total cost of £21,640. Its grey slate floors were made from slate quarried at Mintaro and transported to Gladstone by bullock dray.

Many people question why the gaol was built in such a remote part of South Australia, especially so close to where three railway gauges met, offering what many believed would have been an easy escape route.

B Wing - Gladstone Gaol
© Karen Tiller

A story published in The Mail on 8 August 1881 refers to the building of the gaol and also mentions the first female prisoners to be imprisoned there:

8 August 1881 – Gladstone Gaol

On 8 August 1881, two months to the day after it had opened, Gladstone Gaol received its first female prisoners. Sometime before 1879, Charles Mann, MP for the district, was asked by local residents what he could do for the town. He asked them whether they would like a gaol, and two years later, Gladstone Gaol—described by one writer as having "a gloomy solidity"—was opened.

Sunset Through The Bars
© Allen Tiller

Mr Pollett, from the Redruth Gaol at Burra, was appointed head keeper, and the gaol accommodated  60 male and female prisoners. It appears that it rarely held a full complement of inmates, and its only "lifer" was a cat named Lady Jane Grey.

Rumours have long circulated that the Gaol was a political stunt, orchestrated because a former government minister, who later became Attorney-General, wanted to see government funding directed into Gladstone. Whether true or not, the result was the construction of a prison capable of housing 60 inmates in a town with a population of about 900 people.

Because of its distance from Adelaide, the gaol was rarely used for serious offenders. Instead, it primarily housed debtors and inebriates—in other words, people who couldn't pay their bills or who had alcohol-related offences. Much of the time, the gaol stood empty. In fact, when inebriates elected to serve their sentences at Gladstone Gaol, they were reportedly paid an allowance equivalent to £26 per year.

Probably the only time the gaol came close to full capacity was during outbreaks of measles or other highly contagious diseases in Adelaide. At such times, Gladstone Gaol was converted into a makeshift hospital and quarantine station.

During the Second World War, Gladstone Gaol was used as an internment camp for people of Italian and German origin, as well as prisoners of war who were regarded as security risks to the nation. During this period, it also housed soldiers who had gone AWOL (Absent Without Leave) from their military postings.

From 1943 until 1953, the prison stood dormant and empty.

NO ONE WAS EVER HANGED AT THIS GAOL.

Sorry about the capitals, but I wanted to emphasise this point. Despite all the conjecture, rumours, misinformation and local legends, no one was ever hanged at Gladstone Gaol, either officially or unofficially.

Next week, we'll take a look at the new extensions to the gaol!

Allen Tiller (C) 2014