Details

Latitude

-33.4178

Longitude

149.558

Start Date

1888

End Date

2999

Overcrowding and poor sanitation led to the construction of a new prison at Bathurst, which opened in 1888 with 308 cells. Up until the First World War, the gaol was mainly designated for receiving prisoners who were repeat offenders or considered unlikely to reform. However, from 1914 it began catering more to prisoners who - though previously convicted - were still considered 'hopeful cases'. During the Second World War the gaol was used as an internment camp for 'enemy aliens'. Its use as a prison resumed after the war. In 1970 the gaol was reclassified as a maximum-security prison. The 1970s saw multiple riots at the prison by inmates dissatisfied with their living conditions: there was no glass in the the windows, no heating in winter but extreme heat in summer, and a piggery operating just outside the gaol produced bad odours and attracted insects. The gaol facilities were criticised during the Nagle Royal Commission into the New South Wales prison system (1976-1978). In 1992, the prison's name was changed to Bathurst Correctional Centre. It remains operational today as a minimum to medium-security prison with capacity for 222 inmates.

Sources