Ballarat Gaol

The Ballarat Gaol, a former maximum security prison for males, females and children, is located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Replacing temporary structures including prison hulks in the Bay of Port Phillip and holding yards in Ballarat, the gaol operated between 1862 and 1965.

Ballarat Gaol
Façade of the Ballarat Gaol
LocationBallarat, Victoria
Coordinates37°33′56.37″S 143°51′26.23″E
StatusClosed
Capacity74[1]
Opened1862
Closed1965
Managed byFederation University Australia and the National Trust of Australia

The remaining gate, gate house, and cloisters are now home to the Collaborative Research Centre in Australian History (CRCAH) of Federation University Australia.

History and structure
Remaining guard tower at the old Ballarat Gaol
Panorama of Ballarat Gaol.

The report of the Select Committee on Prison Discipline of September 1857 recommended gaol buildings replace the Port Phillip Bay prison hulks. The inquiry recommended adopting London's Pentonvillle design of 1842 to build the gaols. This prison design carried on a revolution begun in 1829 by Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The complex was based on a central hall from which radiated wings of cells. The principle of the design being that one guard would stand in the centre of the hall and at one glance survey all cells.[1][2]

The construction of the gaol began in 1856 and the first cell blocks were completed by 1857. It was completed in 1862 with 58 cells designed to hold a mixture of 74 male and female prisoners. In 1862 a tunnel was constructed to join the gaol to the adjacent Ballarat Courthouse, allowing for the safe transfer of prisoners.[1]

In 1872 Captain Moonlite, a bushranger and Anglican clergyman, escaped from the gaol.[1]

The prison was closed in 1965.[2]

Current use

Most of the gaol was demolished to allow the School of Mines Ballarat to expand onto the site. The remaining structures at the site include the main gate, warden's residence and governor's residence. These buildings are now used by Federation University. The old warden's residence is now home to the Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sports and its Prevention (ACRISP).

The site is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.[3]

Executions

During its time in use as a gaol, the following individuals were executed by public hanging at Ballarat Gaol:

Name Date of execution Crime Notes
Alexander Davis1 March 1864Murder of George Sims near Smythesdale[4]
James Jones19 March 1866Murder of Dr Saenger[5]
Denis Murphy16 April 1867Murder of Patrick Mara[6]
George Searle7 August 1867Murder of Thomas Burke[7]
Joseph Ballam
John Wilson11 May 1891[8]
James Johnston18 May 1891Murder of his wife and four children[5]
Oscar Wallace11 August 1873[9]
James Ashe21 August 1875[10]
Charles Baker3 September 1885Attempted murder of policeman[11]
Cornelius Bourke21 November 1891Murder of his cellmate in Hamilton Gaol[12]
Elijah Cockroft12 November 1894Murder of his brother's fiancée, Fanny Mott, at Noradjuha, (near Natimuk)[13][14]
Charles Henry Deutschmann28 June 1908Murder of his wife at Dobie (near Ararat)[15]

References
  1. Patterson, Monique (12 January 2005). "Our place for punishment". The Courier. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  2. "Gaol information from the University of Ballarat". Archived from the original on 2 September 2007.
  3. "Gaol (former)". National Trust database. National Trust of Australia. 3 August 1998. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  4. "Confession and execution of Alexander Davis". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956). National Library of Australia. 1 March 1864. p. 5. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  5. "The Ballarat murder: execution of Johnston". The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933). National Library of Australia. 19 May 1891. p. 5. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  6. "Execution of Denis Murphy". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956). National Library of Australia. 17 April 1867. p. 6. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  7. "Execution of Searle and Ballam". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956). National Library of Australia. 8 August 1867. p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  8. "Execution of Wilson". The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933). National Library of Australia. 12 May 1891. p. 5. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  9. "Execution of Oscar Wallace". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956). National Library of Australia. 12 August 1873. p. 6. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  10. "Execution of James Ashe". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956). National Library of Australia. 22 August 1876. p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  11. "Execution at Ballarat". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956). National Library of Australia. 4 September 1885. p. 6. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  12. "Execution of Bourke". The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933). National Library of Australia. 24 April 1891. p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  13. "Execution at Ballarat: a jockey on the scaffold". The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933). National Library of Australia. 13 November 1894. p. 4. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  14. "Execution Ofp Elijah Cockroft". Bendigo Independent. 13 November 1894.
  15. "The Ararat murder: Deutschmann hanged". The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931). National Library of Australia. 30 June 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
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