Silverwater Correctional Complex
The Silverwater Correctional Complex, an Australian maximum and minimum security prison complex for males and females, is located in Silverwater, 21 km (13 mi) west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The complex is operated by Corrective Services NSW, an agency of the New South Wales Government Department of Communities and Justice.
 Entrance to the Silverwater Correctional Complex | |
  Location of Silverwater Correctional Complex in Sydney | |
| Location | Silverwater, New South Wales |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°49′51.5″S 151°3′27.6″E |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Maximum, minimum (male and female) |
| Capacity |
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| Opened |
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| Managed by | Corrective Services NSW |
The complex comprises four separate facilities including Silverwater Correctional Centre (a minimum security prison for males); Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre (a maximum security institution for women and the major reception centre for female offenders in NSW); the Metropolitan Remand & Reception Centre (a maximum security correctional facility for males); and the Dawn de Loas Correctional Centre (a minimum security correctional centre for males).[1]
The complex accepts prisoners charged and convicted under both New South Wales and Commonwealth legislation, and serves as a reception prison for inmates on remand or pending classification.
Silverwater Correctional Centre
Silverwater Correctional Centre, an Australian minimum security facility for males is located within the complex.[2]
Notable prisoners
- Sef Gonzales – Filipino Australian convicted of murdering his parents and sister.
- Robert Hughes – an Australian actor convicted of sexual assaults on then minors during filming of the hit Australian TV sitcom Hey Dad...!
- Chris Munce – convicted of fixing during a horse racing meeting in Hong Kong.
- René Rivkin – (1944–2005) stockbroker and businessman, sentenced to periodic detention due to ill health.
- Eddie Obeid – a former NSW politician convicted of conspiracy and misconduct in public office. He was ordered to hand himself in in October 2021. His son will join him in jail too.[3]
- Salim Mehajer – a former property developer and Deputy Mayor of Auburn City Council who was imprisoned at Silverwater for fraud charges.
Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre
The Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre (formerly known as the Mulawa Correctional Centre), an Australian maximum security facility for females is located within the complex. The centre is divided into twelve living units, a protection/segregation area, an induction unit, a hospital annexe, and provides accommodation for both sentenced and unsentenced inmates and various special program units.[4] The facility opened in 1970 as the old women's prison at Long Bay was converted into a medium security facility for men.[5]
Fraud is the most common reason for imprisonment. Inmates are eligible to study for national recognised qualifications including vocation and TAFE courses.[6]
In the 2010 New South Wales state budget, the prison was allocated $200,000 for a new video conferencing system.[7]
Notable prisoners
- Lindy Chamberlain[8][9] – New Zealand-born Australian convicted and later acquitted of murdering her 9-week-old daughter Azaria; Chamberlain gave birth to another child of her husband Michael Chamberlain while in custody; she was held at Silverwater (then Mulawa Women's Prison), then transferred to Berrima Correctional Centre; incarcerated from 29 October 1982 to 7 February 1986.
- Violet Coco – climate activist with 15 month sentence for blocking one lane of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in December 2022.
- Kathleen Folbigg – convicted of the murders of her 3 infant children; incarcerated in 2003 and pardoned in 2023
- Maddison Hall – convicted of the murder of hitchhiker Lyn Saunders.
- Katherine Knight – convicted of the murder of de facto husband John Price.[10]
- Theresa Lawson – (1951–2014) convicted of the largest fraud in NSW history.
- Rachel Pfitnzer – convicted of murdering her son Dean Shillingsworth
Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre
The Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (MRRC), an Australian maximum security facility for males is located within the complex. The prison opened in 1997, and has a capacity of 900 inmates. It is the largest single correctional centre in Australia.[5] The majority of inmates are unconvicted or unsentenced.[11]
In March, 1999, Russian Australian librarian Lucy Dudko hired a helicopter supposedly to check out the upcoming Olympic site in Sydney. Using a gun, she forced pilot, Tim Joyce, to land within the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre grounds. Waiting was her partner John Killick, who was serving 28 years for armed robberies. He jumped in the helicopter making an escape while being fired on by guards and cheered on by inmates.[12] They landed in a park where Killick hijacked a taxi at gunpoint. The two were able to elude authorities for six weeks before being arrested at the Bass Hill Tourist Park.[12]
In 2004, the Independent Commission Against Corruption conducted an investigation at the prison which concluded that mobile phones were becoming a significant security threat in Australian correctional facilities.[13]
In April 2012, the facility was inundated with members of outlaw motorcycle clubs. Segregation between members of the same gangs is enforced in an effort to break member ties.[14]
Notable prisoners
- Rodney Adler[15][16] – disgraced former director of HIH Insurance and businessman.
- Hew Raymond Griffiths – British-born Australian alleged software pirate, before his extradition to the US.
- Man Haron Monis – (1964–2014) Iranian-born Australian; convicted "hate mail" campaigner against the families of dead soldiers, faced numerous charges of being an accessory to murder and sexual assault. Perpetrator of the 2014 Sydney Siege, shot dead by New South Wales Police Force Tactical Operations Unit.
- Phuong Ngo – Vietnamese Australian politician and businessman convicted of ordering the 1994 killing of Australian NSW state MP John Newman.
- Dragan Vasiljković – (aka Captain Dragan and Daniel Snedden), former Serbian paramilitary commander and alleged war criminal.
- Danushka Gunathilaka, Sri Lankan cricketer
Dawn de Loas Correctional Centre
The Dawn de Loas Correctional Centre, an Australian minimum security work release centre for males is located within the complex.[17]
Major incidents
In March 2021, one of the staff working at the jail committed suicide, just moments after driving a prison van. Paramedics could not save him and he was declared dead.[18]
In October 2021, a former prison guard who used to work at Silverwater was sentenced to jail for assault. Before this she was punished for having inappropriate contact with a prisoner at the jail.[19]
References
- "Silverwater Correctional Complex". Correctional Centres. Corrective Services NSW. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- "New South Wales correctional facilities: Silverwater Correctional Centre". Australian correctional agencies and facilities. Australian Government: Australian Institute of Criminology. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- "Eddie Obeid arrives in prison". 23 October 2021.
- "New South Wales correctional facilities: Mulawa Correctional Centre". Australian correctional agencies and facilities. Australian Government: Australian Institute of Criminology. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- "Key moments in Penal Culture in NSW 1970 – present". The Australian Prisons Project. The University of New South Wales. 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- NSW Government, Corrective Services, Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre Archived 2010-11-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 10 October 2012.
- Brett Winterford (9 June 2010). "NSW Police and prisons get IT budget boost". CRN. Haymarket Media. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- Linder, Douglas O (1995–2011). "The Trial of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain: "The Dingo Trial" A Trial Commentary". University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School.
- "The Story: Timeline of events". Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- Sutton, Candace (21 July 2017). "Meet the 'Queen Bee' of Australian prison". News.com.au.
- "New South Wales correctional facilities: Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre". Australian correctional agencies and facilities. Australian Government: Australian Institute of Criminology. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- "Mastermind of helicopter jailbreak freed early". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- Abby Dinham (3 September 2004). "Mobile phone threat in Australian correctional facilities". ZDNet. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- Linda Silmalis (22 April 2012). "These cells at Silverwater jail are for drive-by shooters". The Sunday Telegraph. News Limited. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- Alberici, Emma (14 April 2005). "Adler jailed for HIH fiasco" (transcript). The 7.30 Report. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- Saville, Margot; Kennedy, Les (15 April 2005). "Bad-boy Rodney sent to his room". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- "New South Wales correctional facilities: Dawn de Loas Correctional Centre". Australian correctional agencies and facilities. Australian Government: Australian Institute of Criminology. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- "Dramatic scenes as a prison guard shoots himself dead at a notorious Sydney prison | Express Digest". 3 March 2021.
- "Former prison guard charged with biting her Rebels bikie ex-boyfriend during a fight".