Berrima Correctional Centre
Encyclopedia
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
located at Berrima
Berrima, New South Wales
Berrima is an historic village in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The village, once a major town, is located on the Old Hume Highway between Canberra and Sydney. It was previously known officially as the Town of Berrima...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Berrima Gaol (closed in 1909 and reopened in 1949 as the Berrima Training Centre) is the oldest gaol still in operation in Australia.
The Centre is also responsible for the administration of a periodic detention centre and court cells at Wollongong.
Address
Argyle St
Berrima NSW 2577
Postal Address
PO Box 250
Phone Number: (02) 4860 2555
How to get there
Public Transport
The nearest railway station is Moss Vale (2.5 hrs from Sydney Central) which is about 7 km from the Centre. There is a bus service to Berrima on weekdays only. On weekends and public holidays the local taxi service may be used.
Visitor Information
Bookings:
Visits must be booked. Bookings are between 6pm - 9pm Mon - Fri. Telephone (02) 4860 2555 for enquiries.
Visit times:
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 9.30am - 11:30am and 1pm - 3pm.
Mondays - coordinated children’s visits.
History
1836 in Australia
See also:1835 in Australia,other events of 1836,1837 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Governors:Governors of the Australian colonies:*Governor of New South Wales - Major-General Sir Richard Bourke...
and 1839
1839 in Australia
See also:1838 in Australia,other events of 1839,1840 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Events:*3 January - John Hutt becomes Governor of Western Australia*15 January - The first US consul, J. H. Williams, takes residence in Sydney...
. Much of the building work was done by convicts in irons.
'Edit'
The Berrima Correctional Centre has now closed it doors being one of the 3 that the NSW State Government is closing.
Inmates have already been moved from the centre, and the centre will finally close it doors on 4th November 2011.
From 1970 up to 2001 the prison was class as minimum/medium security for male inmates and could work outside of the complex on the local market garden that they have,
certain detainee's were allowed to cut the local parks grass and also help out with certain dutys in the community like fighting fires with the local firefighters.
In 2001 the gaol had it’s name changed again. It is now Berrima Correction Centre but this was not the only change to be made. After one hundred and sixty six years as a men’s prison Berrima became a woman’s prison, which can hold up to fifty-nine inmates.
Edit Finish
In the nineteenth century, conditions at the gaol were harsh, prisoners spent most of their days in cells and the only light was through a small grate set in the door. In 1866
1866 in Australia
See also:1865 in Australia,other events of 1866,1867 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Events:*1 February - Arthur Macalister becomes Premier of Queensland...
the gaol was renovated to the standards described by the prison reform
Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
movement for a “model prison”. However, Berrima gaol had solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
cells which measured 8 feet by 5 feet, some smaller, where it was intended that all prisoners spent one year. In 1877
1877 in Australia
See also:1876 in Australia,other events of 1877,1878 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Events:*8 March - John Douglas becomes Premier of Queensland*10 March - Cloncurry was established...
a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
was held to investigate allegations of cruelty by the prison authorities but the complaints were not upheld.
One of the notable trials held in the nearby Berrima Court House was that of Lucretia Dunkley and her lover Martin Beech. Both were both hanged in 1843 for the murder of Dunkley’s husband. Lucretia Dunkley was the only woman hanged at Berrima gaol.
In 1898
1898 in Australia
See also:1897 in Australia,other events of 1898,1899 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Premier of New South Wales - George Reid*Premier of South Australia - Charles Kingston...
, a residence for the governor (or superintendent) of the jail was built next door to the gaol. In the 1930s it was used as a police station. A house for the deputy superintendent was built on the other side of the gaol.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the army used Berrima gaol as a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Prisoner Internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
Camp. Most of the 329 internees were enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
s from shipping companies. There were German officers from Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, German New Guinea
German New Guinea
German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...
(what is now Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
) and also sailors from the cruiser .
The gaol is now an all-female low-to-medium-security prison.