113-582: The Richmond Gaol is a convict era building and tourist attraction in Richmond , Tasmania , and is the oldest intact gaol in Australia . Building of the gaol commenced in 1825, and predates the establishment of the penal colony at Port Arthur in 1833. One of the tasks completed by the convicts who were held at Richmond Gaol was the construction of Richmond Bridge . Most of the gaol buildings have not been changed since convict times. They include an example of
226-404: A female solitary confinement cell, measuring 2 metres (6.6 ft)s by 1 metre (3.3 ft) The buildings include a chain gang sleeping rooms, a flogging yard, a cookhouse and holding rooms. The buildings also feature historical relics and documents. Settlers of Hobart Town were moving away in order to search for more farming land. The area of Sorell was quite established and it
339-489: A convict-supported settlement was established in Western Australia from 1826 to 1831, direct transportation of convicts did not begin until 1850. It continued until 1868. During that period, 9,668 convicts were transported on 43 convict ships . The first convicts to arrive were transported to New South Wales , and sent by that colony to King George Sound (Albany) in 1826 to help establish a settlement there. At that time
452-466: A further four coffins were believed to have been moved to Pentridge in 1937. As the gaol was progressively decommissioned, the building's fabric, including bluestone grave markers of executed prisoners, was incorporated into a sea wall at Brighton in Victoria in the 1930s. The grave marker for Martha Needle, executed in 1894, was rediscovered after being buried by metres of sand. During World War II ,
565-485: A haystack - in order to escape homelessness. He was conditionally released in 1869 and was granted his certificate of freedom two years later. He worked in construction and was not convicted of any further crimes, dying in Perth in 1938. In 2010, UNESCO inscribed 11 Australian Convict Sites on its World Heritage List . The listing recognises the sites as "the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and
678-517: A letter protesting his innocence, which he threw over the prison walls. Operators also run several features, including the candlelit Hangman's Night Tour (with actors portraying prolific and brutal hangman Michael Gateley), and the daily Watch House Experience ; an interactive performance in which visitors are treated as the prisoners would have been during its operation. In 2010, the Old Melbourne Gaol Crime and Justice Experience won
791-624: A makeshift gallows in Melbourne in 1842. The contemporaneous executions were apparently quite a spectacle: one man, Maulboyheenner, twisting on the rope, strangled slowly in front of a crowd of 5000. They had been convicted of killing two whalers in Western Port. Both the Tasmanians and the whalers – one was called the Yankee – were a long way from home." They were arrested at Powlett River . In 1870,
904-425: A new north wing was built; which included entrance buildings, a central hall and chapel. Between 1862 and 1864, a cell block was built for female prisoners on the western side – it was basically a replica of the present east block (until this time, female convicts were not kept apart from the male prisoners). In 1864, the perimeter wall, and the gaol overall, was completed; making it a dominant feature of authority on
1017-573: A new wing, with its own perimeter wall, was constructed between 1852 and 1854; the building using bluestone instead of sandstone. The design was based on that of British prison engineer Joshua Jebb , and especially the designs for the Pentonville Model Prison in London (which suited the current prison reform theories at the time). The new wing was extended in between 1857 and 1859, with the boundary wall also being extended during this time. In 1860,
1130-591: A penal colony. At Moreton Bay, he found the Brisbane River , which Cook had guessed would exist, and explored the lower part of it. In September 1824, he returned with soldiers and established a temporary settlement at Redcliffe . On 2 December 1824, the settlement was transferred to where the Central Business District (CBD) of Brisbane now stands. The settlement was at first called Edenglassie . In 1839 transportation of convicts to Moreton Bay ceased and
1243-654: A prison in 1924; with parts of the jail being incorporated into the RMIT University , and the rest becoming a museum. The three-storey museum displays information and memorabilia of the prisoners and staff, including death masks of the executed criminals. At one time the museum displayed what was believed at the time to be Ned Kelly's skull, before it was stolen in 1978; as well as the pencil used by wrongly convicted Colin Campbell Ross to protest his innocence in writing, before being executed. An allotment of scrubland to
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#17328698556611356-685: A punishment for both major and petty crimes since the 17th century. About 60,000 convicts were transported to the British colonies in North America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, under the terms of the Transportation Act 1717 . Transportation to the Americas ceased following Britain's defeat in the American Revolutionary War . (The number of convicts transported to North America
1469-517: A review of the penal system was conducted, with the recommendation being made to close the gaol and relocate prisoners to more suitable locations. The gaol gradually slowed its operations, and demolished portions of the original site between 1880 and 1924. In 1924, the gaol was finally closed. However, in March 1927, the Old Melbourne Gaol was integrated into part of the new Emily McPherson College and
1582-414: A rope must never be used again. He was posthumously pardoned on 27 May 2008. Frederick Bailey Deeming was born on 30 July 1853. At 16 years of age he ran away to sea, and thereafter, he began a long career of crime, largely thieving and obtaining money under false pretences. He was responsible for the murder of his first wife Marie, and his four children, at Rainhill, England, on or about 26 July 1891, and
1695-501: A second wife, Emily, at Windsor, Melbourne, on 24 December 1891. Less than three months elapsed between the discovery of Emily Mather's body in Windsor, Melbourne , in March 1892, and Deeming's execution at the Old Melbourne Gaol for her murder in May 1892; a remarkably short time by comparison to modern western legal standards. After his execution, it was reported that over 12,000 people cheered on
1808-410: A social stigma and, for some later Australians, being of convict descent instilled a sense of shame and cultural cringe . Attitudes became more accepting in the 20th century, and it is now considered by many Australians to be a cause for celebration to discover a convict in one's lineage. In 2007, it was estimated that approximately four million Australians are related to convicts that were deported from
1921-547: A time – including those imprisoned for petty theft or vagrancy, or simply those staying with a convicted parent. Babies under twelve months old were allowed to be with their mothers. The youngest prisoner was recorded as three-year-old Michael Crimmins, who spent 6 months in the prison in 1857 for being idle and disorderly. In 1851, the 13 and 14-year-old O'Dowd sisters were imprisoned because they had nowhere else to go. Prisoners convicted of serious crimes, such as murder, arson, burglary, rape and shooting, would begin their time on
2034-405: A visit to England in 1835. While there he was called upon by the government to give evidence before a Parliamentary Commission on the evils of transportation, and at their request wrote and submitted a tract on the subject. His views in conjunction with others in the end prevailed. The anti-transportation movement was seldom concerned with the inhumanity of the system, but rather the "hated stain" it
2147-597: A wood frame, and the lashes meted out accordingly. In some colonies, it seems a kidney belt would be used to minimise harm to the kidneys but from the illustrations of flagellations taking place in the yard, this seemed to be absent. Even though some people in Hobart Town would be sentenced to 500 lashes, the number was a little more sympathetic in Richmond. It would start at 25, with the number occasionally hitting 75 or 100. As painful as it sounds, salt would be rubbed into
2260-711: A year later marked it as a site that needed to be preserved at all costs. Furthermore, in 1965, the Melbourne Junior Chamber of Commerce floated the idea of converting it into a museum, for the purposes of tourism. In 1972, the gaol was reopened as a public museum, under the management of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria). As of 2010 , the gaol is recognised as Victoria's oldest surviving penal establishment, and attracts approximately 140,000 visitors per year. The cells have been filled with information about individual prisoners, which also serve to illustrate
2373-471: A youth he clashed with the Victoria Police, and after an incident at his home in 1878, police parties searched for him in the bush. He killed three policemen, and subsequently the colony proclaimed Kelly and his gang wanted outlaws. A final violent confrontation with police took place at Glenrowan on 28 June 1880. Kelly, dressed in a home-made plate metal armour and helmet, was captured and sent to gaol. He
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#17328698556612486-465: Is not verified, although it has been estimated to be 50,000 by John Dunmore Lang and 120,000 by Thomas Keneally .) The British American colony of Maryland received a larger felon quota than any other province. Alternatives to the American colonies were investigated and the newly discovered and mapped East Coast of New Holland was proposed. The details provided by James Cook during his expedition to
2599-631: The Australasian Anti-Transportation League was formed to lobby for the permanent cessation of transportation, its aims being furthered by the commencement of the Australian gold rushes the following year. The last convict ship to be sent from England, the St. Vincent , arrived in 1853, and on 10 August Jubilee festivals in Hobart and Launceston celebrated 50 years of European settlement with
2712-499: The Convict Establishment , the colony's convict prison, and misbehaviour was punished by stints there. The majority, however, were stationed in other parts of the colony. Although there was no convict assignment in Western Australia, there was a great demand for public infrastructure throughout the colony, so that many convicts were stationed in remote areas. Initially, most offenders were set to work creating infrastructure for
2825-622: The Founders and Survivors project. In 1803, two ships arrived in Port Phillip , which Lt. John Murray in the Lady Nelson had discovered and named the previous year. The Calcutta under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Collins transported 300 convicts, accompanied by the supply ship Ocean . Collins had previously been Judge Advocate with the First Fleet in 1788. He chose Sullivan Bay near
2938-584: The Merthyr Tydfil rising of 1831 ; the Tolpuddle Martyrs (1834); Swing Rioters and Luddites (1828–1833); American and French-Canadian prisoners from the Upper Canada rebellion and Lower Canada Rebellion (1839), and Chartists (1842). With increasing numbers of free settlers entering New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) by the mid-1830s, opposition to the transportation of felons into
3051-501: The Russell Street Police Headquarters . It was first constructed starting in 1839, and during its operation as a prison between 1845 and 1924, it held and executed some of Australia's most notorious criminals, including bushranger Ned Kelly and serial killer Frederick Bailey Deeming . In total, 133 people were executed by hanging . Though it was used briefly during World War II , it formally ceased operating as
3164-532: The Seven Years' War were used as makeshift floating prisons . Four out of five prisoners were in jail for theft. In the 1800s the Bloody Code was gradually rescinded because judges and juries considered its punishments too harsh. Since lawmakers still wanted punishments to deter potential criminals, they increasingly used transportation as a more humane sentence to execution . Transportation had been employed as
3277-458: The Swan River Colony in 1829 – initially was intended solely for free settlers, but commenced receiving convicts in 1850. South Australia and Victoria , established in 1836 and 1850 respectively, officially remained free colonies. However, a population that included thousands of convicts already resided in the area that became known as Victoria. Penal transportation to Australia peaked in
3390-488: The 1830s and dropped off significantly in the following decade, as protests against the convict system intensified throughout the colonies. In 1868, almost two decades after transportation to the eastern colonies had ceased, the last convict ship arrived in Western Australia. The majority of convicts were transported for petty crimes , particularly theft: thieves comprised 80% of all transportees. More serious crimes, such as rape and murder, became transportable offences in
3503-542: The 1830s, but since they were also punishable by death, comparatively few convicts were transported for such crimes. Approximately 1 in 7 convicts were women, while political prisoners , another minority group, comprised many of the best-known convicts . Once emancipated , most ex-convicts stayed in Australia and joined the free settlers, with some rising to prominent positions in Australian society. However, convictism carried
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3616-690: The Brisbane penal settlement was closed. In 1842 free settlement was permitted and people began to colonize the area voluntarily. On 6 June 1859 Queensland became a colony separate from New South Wales . In 2009 the Convict Records of Queensland, held by the Queensland State Archives and the State Library of Queensland was added to UNESCO's Australian Memory of the World Register. Although
3729-621: The British Empire. In 1830, the Port Arthur penal settlement was established to replace Macquarie Harbour, as it was easier to maintain regular communications by sea. Although known in popular history as a particularly harsh prison, in reality, its management was far more humane than Macquarie Harbour or the outlying stations of New South Wales. Experimentation with the so-called model prison system took place in Port Arthur. Solitary confinement
3842-536: The British Isles to Australia. The convict era has inspired famous novels, films, and other cultural works, and the extent to which it has shaped Australia's national character has been studied by many writers and historians. According to Robert Hughes in The Fatal Shore , the population of England and Wales, which had remained steady at 6 million from 1700 to 1740, began rising considerably after 1740. By
3955-582: The British penal system transported about 162,000 convicts from Great Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia . The British Government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. After trans-Atlantic transportation ended with the start of the American Revolution , authorities sought an alternative destination to relieve further overcrowding of British prisons and hulks . Earlier in 1770, James Cook had charted and claimed possession of
4068-563: The Kuhn people, when the two Tasmanian Aboriginal men were publicly hanged for murder." The Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner public marker Archived 3 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine exists at the place of execution. The website contains historical research and information on the artists commissioned for the marker, Artist Brook Andrew, along with Trent Walter. "Two Tasmanian Aboriginal men, clad in white pyjamas, went to their deaths on
4181-401: The Melbourne skyline. At its completion, the prison occupied an entire city block, and included exercise yards, a hospital in one of the yards, a chapel, a bath house and staff accommodation. A house for the chief warders was built on the corner of Franklin and Russell streets, and 17 homes were built for gaolers on Swanston Street in 1860. Artefacts recovered from the area indicate that even
4294-526: The Probation System was employed, where convicts spent an initial period, usually two years, in public works gangs on stations outside of the main settlements. They were then freed to work for wages within a set district. Transportation to Tasmania ended in 1853 (see section below on Cessation of Transportation ). Records on the individual convicts transported to Van Diemen’s Land or born there between 1803 and 1900 were being digitised as of 2019 as part of
4407-567: The Risdon Cove site inadequate, and in 1804 he established an alternative settlement on the western side of the river at Sullivan's Cove, Tasmania . This later became known as Hobart , and the original settlement at Risdon Cove was abandoned. Collins was appointed as the first Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. When the convict station on Norfolk Island was abandoned in 1807–1808, the remaining convicts and free settlers were transported to Hobart and allocated land for resettlement. However, as
4520-518: The South Pacific in 1770 made it the most suitable. On 18 August 1786, the decision was made to send a colonisation party of convicts, military, and civilian personnel to Botany Bay under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip , who was appointed as Governor of the new colony. There were 775 convicts on board six transport ships. They were accompanied by officials, members of the crew, marines,
4633-410: The aftermath of the 1853 triple hanging of bushrangers William Atkins, George Wilson and George Melville: All went to Melbourne. Passed by the jail and saw the tightened ropes which supported the lifeless bodies of three wretches who had been executed a half an hour before. The bodies were hidden from view by a wooden erection, a contrivance which takes a little from the horror of the exhibition. To have
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4746-433: The age of 25, on 11 November 1880. After a two-day trial, Kelly was convicted of killing a police officer. As stated by law at the time, executed prisoners were buried in unmarked graves in the gaol burial yard. Before burial, a death mask was produced from the executed prisoners head as part of the phrenological study of hanged felons. Historian and associate professor of Wollongong University , John McQuilton, states that
4859-531: The arrival of the Second Fleet . The "Memorandoms" by James Martin provide a contemporary account of the events as seen by a convict from the first fleet. The second fleet was a disaster and provided little in the way of help. In June 1790 it delivered additional sick and dying convicts, affected by the rigors of the lengthy journey. The situation worsened in Port Jackson. Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Bourke
4972-434: The arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove, a group of convicts and free settlers were sent to take control of Norfolk Island , a small island 1,412 kilometres (877 mi) east of the coast of New South Wales. More convicts were sent, and many of them proved to be unruly. In early 1789 they made a failed attempt to overthrow Lieutenant Philip Gidley King , the island's commandant. There were other hazards: HMS Sirius
5085-488: The bay would not be suitable for the establishment of a colony due to "the openness of this bay, and the dampness of the soil, by which the people would probably be rendered unhealthy". Phillip decided to examine Port Jackson , a bay mentioned by Captain Cook, about three leagues to the north. On 22 January 1788 a small expedition led by Phillips sailed to Port Jackson, arriving in the early afternoon: Here all regret arising from
5198-404: The beam was placed for each hanging (a common design, used in other Victorian gaols at Ararat, Geelong, Beechworth, Ballarat, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Melbourne and Pentridge; and interstate at Adelaide and Long Bay, New South Wales). It was later moved a few metres to a side gallery below the octagon, where it remains today. The first hanging of a woman in Victoria, Elizabeth Scott, was performed in
5311-480: The brain removed for research after death. The films and TV productions Ned Kelly (1970) , Trial of Ned Kelly (1977), The Last Outlaw (1980) , Besieged: The Ned Kelly Story (2004), Ned's Head (2011) and True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) all used the interior of Old Melbourne Jail as a set for the scene of Kelly's hanging. The scenes were filmed either at the actual location of Kelly's execution or, in
5424-524: The cessation of convict transportation . In 1861, it was controlled by the municipal police and when they were removed to become centralised in Hobart, the gaol simply became a group of holding cells . By the end of the 1920s, it was abandoned . In 1945, the gaol was rescued by becoming a State Reserve and through legislation in the 1970s, it was run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service , meaning
5537-432: The city of Sydney . This date is celebrated as Australia Day . Initially the members of the first fleet suffered a high mortality rate , due mainly to starvation from shortages of food. The ships carried only enough food to provide for the settlers until they could establish agriculture in the region. There were an insufficient number of skilled farmers and domesticated livestock to achieve this. The colony had to await
5650-458: The colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts." Convict George Barrington is (perhaps apocryphally) recorded as having written the prologue for the first theatrical play performed by convicts in Australia, one year after the First Fleet's arrival. It is known as "Our Country's Good", based on the now-famous closing stanza: The poems of Frank the Poet are among
5763-682: The colonies grew. The most influential spokesmen were newspaper proprietors who were also members of the Independent Congregational Church such as John Fairfax in Sydney and the Reverend John West in Launceston, who argued against convicts both as competition to honest free labourers and as the source of crime and vice within the colony. Bishop Bernard Ullathorne , a Catholic prelate who had been in Australia since 1832 returned for
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#17328698556615876-415: The completion of their sentence, and debtors, were housed on the third floor communal cells. These top level cells were large, and held up to six prisoners at time; and were mostly reserved to prisoners convicted of minor crimes such as drunkenness, vagrancy, prostitution or petty theft. During its operation, the gaol was the setting for 133 hangings. The most infamous was that of bushranger Ned Kelly at
5989-523: The convict system, including the construction of the Convict Establishment itself. In 1852 a Convict Depot was built at Albany, but closed 3 years later. When shipping increased the Depot was re-opened. Most of the convicts had their Ticket-of-Leave and were hired to work by the free settlers. Convicts also crewed the pilot boat, rebuilt York Street and Stirling Terrace; and the track from Albany to Perth
6102-525: The corner of Russell and La Trobe Streets, adjoining the then Supreme Court . The first cell block was opened for prisoners in 1845, but the facilities were considered inadequate; escapes occurring frequently. The gaol was already crowded by 1850. With the discovery of gold in 1851 (when the Port Phillip District became the new Colony of Victoria), and the resulting influx of population, law and order became more difficult to maintain. Subsequently,
6215-576: The crown against this interference with their legal rights, fearing that a reduction in punishments would cease to provide enough deterrence to the convicts. Bourke, however, was not dissuaded from his reforms. He continued to combat the inhumane treatment of convicts, and limited the number of convicts assigned to each employer to seventy. There was limited oversight of treatment of assigned convicts. Bourke granted rights to convicts who were freed after serving their sentences, such as allowing them to acquire property and serve on juries. It has been argued that
6328-681: The east coast of Australia for Britain . Seeking to pre-empt the French colonial empire from expanding into the region, Britain chose Australia as the site of a penal colony, and in 1787, the First Fleet of eleven convict ships set sail for Botany Bay , arriving on 20 January 1788 to found Sydney , New South Wales , the first European settlement on the continent. Other penal colonies were later established in Van Diemen's Land ( Tasmania ) in 1803 and Queensland in 1824. Western Australia – established as
6441-406: The end of a convict's sentence, seven years in most cases, the convict was issued with a Certificate of Freedom . He was free to become a settler or to return to England. Convicts who misbehaved, however, were often sent to a place of secondary punishment, such as Port Arthur, Tasmania , or Norfolk Island , where they would suffer additional punishment and solitary confinement . Within a month of
6554-412: The entrance to the building to this very day. Once these were completed it created a better segregation between male and female prisoners. The female wing contained a new cookhouse and bake oven. In an attempt to negate the escapes and escape attempts from the gaol, it was surrounded with a stone wall. This was done in 1840. By the mid-1850s, the place was only being used as a Watch House due to
6667-458: The existing small population was already having difficulties producing enough food, the sudden doubling of the population was almost catastrophic. Starting in 1816, more free settlers began arriving from Great Britain. On 3 December 1825 Tasmania was declared a colony separate from New South Wales , with a separate administration. The Macquarie Harbour penal colony on the West Coast of Tasmania
6780-466: The families thereof, and their own children who together totaled 645. In all, eleven ships were sent in what became known as the First Fleet . Other than the convict transports, there were two naval escorts and three storeships. The fleet assembled in Portsmouth and set sail on 13 May 1787. The eleven ships arrived at Botany Bay over the three-day period of 18 - 20 January 1788. It soon became clear that
6893-422: The few surviving literary works done by a convict while still incarcerated. His best-known work is "A Convict's Tour of Hell". A version of the convict ballad " Moreton Bay ", detailing the brutal punishments meted out by commandant Patrick Logan and his death at the hands of Aborigines, is also attributed to Frank. Other convict ballads include " Jim Jones at Botany Bay ". The ballad " Botany Bay ", which describes
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#17328698556617006-516: The first general laws against child labour (the Factory Acts ) passed in the United Kingdom. Crime had become a major problem. In 1784, a French observer noted that "from sunset to dawn the environs of London became the patrimony of brigands for twenty miles around." Each parish had a watchman, but British cities did not have police forces in the modern sense. Jeremy Bentham strongly promoted
7119-477: The flesh wounds created by the cat-o-nine tails , but this was actually done to minimise infection . The lashings at Richmond Gaol (or any other gaol which undertook whippings - i.e.: Adelaide Gaol , Melbourne Gaol ) would have a medical officer standing by to check whether the persons' life would be in danger. Should the person be deemed unfit to continue, they would be taken down. However, once they were fit enough again, they would be strapped back up to have
7232-407: The former disappointments was at once obliterated; and Governor Phillip had the satisfaction to find one of the finest harbours in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line might ride in perfect security. The different coves of this harbour were examined with all possible expedition, and the preference was given to one which had the finest spring of water, and in which ships can anchor so close to
7345-417: The gaol could be classified as an historic site under their control. The gaol had solitary cells (or solitary confinement ). The idea was you could be place in pitch darkness and complete silence for a period of 24 hours to thirty days. The time period depended upon what you were charged with. Hangings never took place at Richmond Gaol but flagellations (whippings) did. Convicts would be strapped to
7458-555: The gaol was horribly overcrowded because of it being so small - 19 square metres - and prisoners were forced to sleep in the passageways. The two storey building began construction in 1832 and completed in 1833. The upper level served as the Gaoler's Residence with the downstairs section being storage. In 1835, the Eastern and Western wings were added and it's the Western Wing which serves as
7571-478: The gaol was used as a military prison for soldiers found to be absent without leave . A new wall was built in the eastern courtyard during this time, so that cell block inmates were separated from the college girls. After the end of the war, the section used for holding prisoners was then used only as a storage facility for the Victoria Police force, whose headquarters were nearby in Russell Street. In May 1974,
7684-426: The gaolers and their families lived within the gaol walls in the 1850s and 1860s. Much of daily life inside the gaol could be gleaned from sources such as diaries written by John Castieau, governor of the gaol between 1869 and 1884. During its operation, the gaol was used to house short-term prisoners, lunatics and some of the colony 's most notorious and hardened criminals. It also housed up to twenty children at
7797-465: The government or on hire from penal depots, the Exiles were free to work for pay, but could not leave the district to which they were assigned. The Port Phillip District was still part of New South Wales at this stage. Victoria separated from New South Wales and became an independent colony in 1851. In 1823 John Oxley sailed north from Sydney to inspect Port Curtis and Moreton Bay as possible sites for
7910-416: The ground floor with a time of solitary confinement . They were also forbidden from communicating with other prisoners, which was strictly enforced by the usage of a silence mask, or calico hood, when outside their cells. They would only be given a single hour of solitary exercise a day, with the remaining 23 hours spent in their cells. Inside the cells, prisoners would be able to lie on a thin mattress over
8023-487: The heritage and cultural tourism category at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards in Hobart. A skull, long believed to be Ned Kelly's, was on display in the museum until it was stolen from a glass cabinet in 1978. Efforts have been taken by scientists and the government to determine the location of the skull, and whether it was authentic to begin with. It was reported that members of the public may have
8136-469: The history of Melbourne itself. In addition to historical information, it also includes various memorabilia ; including death masks , an iron mask, and a pair of leather gloves designed to prevent inmates from practising self-abuse. Notably, it still includes Ned Kelly's death mask, pistol and replica of his suit of armour. In addition, the gaol had previously displayed the pencil used by Colin Ross to write
8249-466: The idea of a circular prison , but the penitentiary was seen by many government officials as a peculiar American concept. Virtually all malefactors were caught by informers or denounced to the local court by their victims. Pursuant to the so-called " Bloody Code ", by the 1770s some 222 crimes in Britain carried the death penalty . Almost all of these were crimes against property, including such offences as
8362-421: The inner courtyard, and in 1995, removed the temporary war-time pavilion classrooms. As of 2010 , the sections that RMIT owns are collectively known as the "RMIT Building 11. Architect: Colonial Government Architect", and include the entrance block and chapel; with the bath house and chapel serving as art studios. In 1957, the National Trust of Australia listed the Old Melbourne Gaol on its heritage register, and
8475-413: The lack of monitoring for burial processes was odd, given Victorian society's normally brilliant attention to detail. The gallows occupied several different sites within the gaol. A free-standing scaffold was used for early executions, initially outside the main gate and later in one of the yards; for a triple hanging in 1864 it was erected just inside the main gate complex. Diarist Charles Evans witnessed
8588-435: The last awful grapple with death set up like curiosity for the edification of a gaping multitude is a sickening contrivance unworthy of an advanced country. After 1864 a fixed gallows was installed below the octagon across the main axis of the prison block, against the wall dividing the male block from the female block. It comprised a single-leaf trap cut into the metal walkway, with iron sockets in either wall above, into which
8701-405: The north-east of Melbourne was selected as Port Phillips first permanent gaol. On 1 January 1838, George Wintle was appointed to be gaoler at the prison at £100 a year; with the site becoming colloquially known as Wintle's Hotel . Construction of the gaol started in 1839–1840 on Collins Street West, but it was considered too small at the time. A second gaol was then built between 1841 and 1844 at
8814-412: The official end of transportation. Transportation continued in small numbers to Western Australia. The last convict ship, Hougoumont , left Britain in 1867 and arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. In all, about 164,000 convicts were transported to the Australian colonies between 1788 and 1868 onboard 806 ships. Convicts were made up of English and Welsh (70%), Irish (24%), Scottish (5%), and
8927-433: The present-day Sorrento, Victoria for the first settlement - some 90 km south of present-day Melbourne . About two months later the settlement was abandoned due to poor soil and water shortages and Collins moved the convicts to Hobart. Several convicts had escaped into the bush and were left behind to unknown fates with the local aboriginal people. One such convict, the subsequently celebrated William Buckley , lived in
9040-427: The prison on 11 November 1863 – along with her co-accused, Julian Cross and David Gedge. The last person to be executed was Angus Murray in 1924, the same year the gaol was closed. Edward "Ned" Kelly, born sometime between June 1854 and June 1855, was an Irish-Australian bushranger . He was seen by some as merely a cold-blooded killer, while to others he was a folk hero for his defiance of the colonial authorities. As
9153-628: The remainder of their sentence handed out. Like most old sites like this, it has its fair share of ghost stories. The third cell in the Men's Block is apparently quite well known for the terrible effect it can have on people in there. People claim to hear moaning and deep sighs and some people claim they get a cold shiver as they approach. The Richmond Gaol... 1825 - Revised Second Edition by Walter B. Pridmore, 2007. ISBN 978 0 9751239 9 7 Convictism in Australia Between 1788 and 1868
9266-567: The remaining 1% from the British outposts in India and Canada, Maoris from New Zealand, Chinese from Hong Kong, and slaves from the Caribbean. Samuel Speed, who died 150 years after the arrival of the First Fleet, is believed to have been the last surviving transported convict. Born in Birmingham in 1841, he was transported to Western Australia in 1866 after deliberately committing a crime - setting fire to
9379-480: The remains of bones and teeth taken as souvenirs when graves were exhumed in 1929 for reburial at Pentridge Prison. A skull from a skeleton buried under the initials "E.K." was taken, with the apparent assumption that this stood for Edward Kelly. Special interest was directed to finding a photograph of former South Melbourne councillor Alex Talbot holding skull purported to be Ned Kelly's, and information on grave exhume contractor Lee of Lee and Dunn , or his family, who
9492-480: The rise of a well-coordinated anti-transportation movement, especially following a severe economic depression in the early 1840s. Transportation was temporarily suspended in 1846 but soon revived with overcrowding of British gaols and clamour for the availability of transportation as a deterrent. By the late 1840s most convicts being sent to Van Diemen's Land (plus those to Victoria ) were designated as "exiles" and were free to work for pay while under sentence. In 1850
9605-536: The sadness felt by convicts forced to leave their loved ones in England, was written at least 40 years after the end of transportation. Melbourne Gaol The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and current museum on Russell Street , in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia . It consists of a bluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildings, and opposite
9718-412: The second floor – whereby they would be allowed to work in the yards every day. Male prisoners would perform hard labour – including breaking rocks, and other duties in the stone quarries, while women would sew, clean and cook. Women would also make shirts and waistcoats for male prisoners, as well as act as domestic servants for the governor and his family. Prisoners who had become trusted, those nearing
9831-423: The sections used by the school were remodelled by architects Eggleston, McDonald and Secomb, to act as the schools food and fashion departments. The Emily McPherson College was merged into RMIT University in 1979, bringing the gaol entrance gates, and other facilities alongside it. In 1990, RMIT performed work to restore the enclosed balcony to its former 1927 design. In 1994, RMIT performed further work to landscape
9944-555: The settlement was transferred to the Swan River Colony, and the troops and convicts were withdrawn. In April 1848, Charles Fitzgerald , Governor of Western Australia , petitioned Britain to send convicts to his state because of labour shortages. Britain rejected sending fixed-term convicts, but offered to send first offenders in the final years of their terms. Most convicts in Western Australia spent very little time in prison. Those who were stationed at Fremantle were housed in
10057-554: The shore, that at a very small expence quays may be constructed at which the largest vessels may unload. This cove is about half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile across at the entrance. In honour of Lord Sydney, the Governor distinguished it by the name of Sydney Cove. There they established the first permanent European colony on the Australian continent, within New South Wales , on 26 January 1788. The area has since developed as
10170-422: The slate floors. They could only bathe and change clothes once a week, and attend the chapel on Sundays (with a Bible provided to promote good behaviour). Prisoners might only have been allowed to finally socialise with other prisoners towards the end of their sentences. The routine for prisoners was regulated by a system of bells, and enforced by punishments; prisoners who obeyed the rules would be promoted to
10283-480: The stealing of goods worth over 5 shillings, the cutting down of a tree, the theft of an animal, even the theft of a rabbit from a warren . Because the Industrial Revolution economically displaced much of the working class, there was an increase in petty crime. The government was under pressure to find an alternative to confinement in overcrowded gaols . The situation was so dire that hulks left over from
10396-515: The streets outside, and there was public speculation that Deeming was in fact Jack the Ripper . "Tragically two of these (Aboriginal) men, Tunnerminnerwait (known as Jack) and Maulboyheenner (known as Bob, or sometimes called Timmy or Jimmy), became the first people executed in the Port Phillip District . This took place in 1842, a mere seven years after John Batman's fraudulent treaty with
10509-436: The suspension of convict transportation to New South Wales in 1840 can be attributed to the actions of Bourke and other like-minded men, such as Australian-born lawyer William Charles Wentworth . It took another 10 years, but transportation to the colony of New South Wales was finally officially abolished on 1 October 1850. If a convict was well behaved, the convict could be given a ticket of leave , granting some freedom. At
10622-402: The time of the American Revolution , London was overcrowded, filled with the unemployed, and flooded with cheap gin . Poverty , social injustice , child labour , harsh and dirty living conditions and long working hours were prevalent in 19th-century Britain . Dickens 's novels perhaps best illustrate this; many government officials were horrified by what they saw. Only in 1833 and 1844 were
10735-499: The time, which ultimately served to condemn him. Despite his pleas of innocence (including an attempt whereby a letter was thrown over the gaol walls), he was executed by hanging in the gaol in April 1922 (only 115 days after the body was found). A new four-strand rope was used for the first time at the execution, and proved to be a failure; Ross slowly strangled for between 8 and 20 minutes before his death. A prison report later ruled that such
10848-587: The western side of Port Phillip for the next 32 years before approaching the new settlers and assisting as an interpreter for the indigenous peoples. A second settlement was established at Westernport Bay , on the site of present-day Corinella , in November 1826. It comprised an initial 20 soldiers and 22 convicts, with another 12 convicts arriving subsequently. This settlement was abandoned in February 1828, and all convicts returned to Sydney. The Port Phillip District
10961-487: The western third of Australia was unclaimed land known as New Holland . Fears that France would lay claim to the land prompted the Governor of New South Wales , Ralph Darling , to send Major Edmund Lockyer , with troops and 23 convicts, to establish a settlement at King George Sound. Lockyer's party arrived on Christmas Day, 1826. A convict presence was maintained at the settlement for over four years. On 7 March 1831 control of
11074-551: The years 1865, 1866, and 1867, after which transportation would cease. In accordance with this, the last convict ship to Western Australia, Hougoumont , left Britain in 1867 and arrived in Western Australia on 10 January 1868. Between 1788 and 1852, about 24,000 transportees were women, one in seven. 80% of women had been convicted of theft, usually petty. For protection, many quickly attached themselves to male officers or convicts. Although they were routinely referred to as courtesans , no women were transported for prostitution, as it
11187-405: Was being extended into the area soon to be known as Richmond. In the meantime, convicts were used as virtual slave labour to create all kinds of infrastructure like roads, bridges and public buildings. Finally the township of Richmond was proclaimed in 1824. A court house to service the police district in the area was built in 1825 and this was the start of the gaol building. By the 1830s
11300-508: Was believed to inflict on the free (non- emancipist ) middle classes. Transportation to New South Wales temporarily ended 1840 under the Order-in-Council of 22 May 1840, by which time some 150,000 convicts had been sent to the colonies. The sending of convicts to Brisbane in its Moreton Bay district had ceased the previous year, and administration of Norfolk Island was later transferred to Van Diemen's Land. Opposition to transportation
11413-723: Was established in 1820 to exploit the valuable timber Huon Pine growing there for furniture making and shipbuilding. Macquarie Harbour had the added advantage of being almost impossible to escape from. Most attempts ended with fugitive convicts either drowning, dying of starvation in the bush, or (on at least three occasions) turning cannibal. Convicts sent to this settlement had usually re-offended during their sentence of transportation. They were treated very harshly, labouring in cold and wet weather, and subjected to severe corporal punishment for minor infractions. Several hundred non-indigenous black convicts were transported to Van Diemen's Land, most as punishment for speaking or acting against
11526-536: Was further speculation that the skull actually belonged to Frederick Bailey Deeming, with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine claiming that the skull is similar to both Kelly's and Deeming's death masks. Ned Kelly's actual remains were later located in the grounds of Pentridge Prison, and confirmed by DNA comparison to living relatives, including a piece of his skull. This skull fragment showed saw marks, showing that Kelly's cranium had been sawn open and
11639-526: Was hanged for murder at the Old Melbourne Gaol in November 1880. His notoriety affirmed him as a polarising iconic figure in Australian history, folk lore, literature, art and film. Colin Campbell Ross, an Australian wine-bar owner, was wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke in December 1921. The case, dubbed the Gun Alley Murder , was heavily influenced by public hysteria at
11752-400: Was made into a good road. An Albany newspaper noted their commendable behaviour and wrote, "There were instances in which our free settlers might take an example". Western Australia's convict era came to an end with the cessation of penal transportation by Britain. In May 1865, the colony was advised of the change in British policy, and told that Britain would send one convict ship in each of
11865-597: Was not a transportable offence. Approximately 3,600 political prisoners were transported to the Australian colonies, many of whom arrived in waves corresponding to political unrest in Britain and Ireland. They included the First Scottish Martyrs in 1794; British Naval Mutineers (from the Nore Mutiny) in 1797 and 1801; Irish rebels in 1798 , 1803 , 1848 and 1868 ; Cato Street Conspirators (1820); Scots Rebels (1820); Yorkshire Rebels (1820 and 1822); leaders of
11978-557: Was not unanimous; wealthy landowner, Benjamin Boyd , for reasons of economic self-interest, wanted to use transported convicts from Van Diemen's Land as a source of free or low-cost labour in New South Wales, particularly as shepherds. The final transport of convicts to New South Wales occurred in 1850, with some 1,400 convicts transported between the Order-in-Council and that date. The continuation of transportation to Van Diemen's Land saw
12091-518: Was officially sanctioned in 1837 following the landing of the Henty brothers in Portland Bay in 1834, and John Batman settled on the site of Melbourne . Between 1844 and 1849 about 1,750 convicts arrived there from England. They were referred to either as "Exiles" or the "Pentonvillians" because most of them came from Pentonville Probationary Prison. Unlike earlier convicts who were required to work for
12204-462: Was suggested that it may have been that of executed murderer Ernest Knox , who was hanged 14 years after Kelly and also had the initials "E.K." Former Pentridge Prison chaplain Father Peter Norden has stated that he believed the skull handed in could not belong to Kelly, and that it probably belonged to a woman, however later DNA testing showed that the skull was from a male. In 2010, there
12317-536: Was tasked with delivering Kelly's skull to the governor. In 2009, West Australian farmer Tom Baxter handed a skull to authorities, arguing that it was the one stolen from the gaol – while refusing to explain how he obtained it. Further examination confirmed that the Baxter skull was indeed the same one previously on display at the Gaol museum, however DNA testing in 2011 showed that it had not been Kelly's after all. Instead, it
12430-476: Was the ninth Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, serving between 1831 and 1837. Appalled by the excessive punishments doled out to convicts during their imprisonment and work assignments, Bourke passed 'The Magistrates Act', which limited the sentence a magistrate could pass to fifty lashes (previously there was no such limit). Bourke's administration was controversial. Furious magistrates and employers petitioned
12543-452: Was the preferred method of punishment. Many changes were made to the manner in which convicts were handled in the general population, largely responsive to British public opinion on the harshness of their treatment. Until the late 1830s, most convicts were either retained by the Government for public works or assigned to private individuals as a form of indentured labour. From the early 1840s
12656-422: Was used for educational purposes. This necessitated changes to the prison; in 1929, despite poor record keeping of prisoner burials, historical evidence suggested the remains of approximately 32 executed prisoners, including Ned Kelly, were exhumed from the Old Melbourne Gaol and buried at mass graves in a quarry at Pentridge . In 1930, the women's cell block, walls and several other buildings were demolished, and
12769-556: Was wrecked on one of the island's reefs while attempting to land stores. In 1803, a British expedition was sent from Sydney to Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land ) to establish a new penal colony there. The small party, led by Lt. John Bowen, established a settlement at Risdon Cove, on the eastern side of the Derwent River. Originally sent to Port Philip, but abandoned within weeks, another expedition led by Lieutenant-Colonel David Collins arrived soon after. Collins considered
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