Berrima Gaol to be Destroyed

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 497, 29 October 1928, Page 13

Berrima Gaol to be Destroyed

Had Housed Some of worst N.S. W. Criminals DATES FROM 1841 Berrima gaol, regarded as one o£ the most historic buildings in Australia and New Zealand, is soon to be demolished. It is in the southern part of New South Wales. The earliest records of a prison at Berrima date- as far back at 1841. The old prison was closed on August 14, 1909, and the only official use to which the buildings have been put since that date was the establishment there of a detention camp for Germans during the war. In recent years the gaol has been in the hands of a caretaker, and the old prison has been visited by thousands of tourists.

The earliest records of a prison at Berrima show that in IS4I prisoners were confined there, and in October of that year one man was hanged there. The present gaol was first used in July, 1859, and from that date until 1866 it existed upon the same footing as the other gaols of the State. In that year the Government constituted Berrima as a' model prison, mainly with a view to introducing into the prison organisations the system known as the “separate treatment” system, and for many years was conducted under that category. During the last three years of its active existence as a prison, many habitual criminals were kept there, and the old gaol had the doubtful distinction of housing the first prisoners declared habitual criminals.

Grim stories of old Berrima are told, and in the very early days one reads of the application to prisoners of a special form of punishment known as the gag, or spread-eagling of prisoners —the latted described as “the tricing up of a man by his wrists, with his feet not quite resting on the ground” —and of other forms of punishment, which have long since passed out of use in Australian penal establishments. Berrima gaol has housed some of the worst criminals New South Wales has had the misfortune to possess, and one of the most stirring periods in the history of the prison was in the early ’sixties. Mutiny in 1864

Many of the troubles of that time culminated in .what is known as the mutiny of 1564. By a long process of careful preparation, between 60 and 70 prisoners succeeded in barricading themselves in the large messroom. The men howled and cried for vengeance, and the situation was all the more serious by reason of the fact that the governor’s wife and family resided within the gaol. All night and well into the next day the mutiny continued, and every available officer was armed. . The strength of the latter force was 14, and these officers were lined up in the yard before the main entrance to the messroom.

Axe in hand, the governor of the gaol announced his intention of breaking open the door. Every prisoner must then, he explained, advance to the door at a given .signal, and leave the room one by one. “If two approach, the second will be shot," the governor said peremptorily. There was a moment’s sullen pause, and then the prisoners realised that they were beaten. They advanced in single file, and after being handcuffed were removed to the cells. Now the old gaol, with its memories of both peace and war, is to disappear, and Berrima will lose one of its most historic spots. Once an important centre, Berrima is gradually declining into a peaceful country village, which very soon will have only the old courthouse to remind visitors of its early history.