Perth Gaol - History

History

Prior to the construction of the Perth Gaol, the Swan River Colony had only the Round House in Fremantle, the partially completed Fremantle Prison (construction began in 1851 and completed in 1859) and a six-cell lock-up which had been built in about 1830 opposite Government House in Perth. With the growth of the city it was deemed that the latter was an inappropriate location for a gaol and it was demolished in 1855 (the site now occupied by The Deanery). A new site was selected by the Colonial Secretary, Charles Piesse and the Surveyor-General, John Septimus Roe and reserved on a rise on what is now near the intersection of Beaufort and Francis Streets.

With the expanding population and with the importation of convicts in 1850 to provide a labour force for public works, there was a need for a facility to house inmates near the city. A proposal was submitted to Governor Charles Fitzgerald in December 1853 for such a facility comprising two floors with a basement. The project was approved but construction took longer than expected and substantial modifications to the original design were made while work progressed. The final building comprised a cruciform layout with cells, a chapel, gaolers' quarters and prisoners' yards.

The design was by architect Richard Roach Jewell, the city Chief of Works who had only recently arrived in the colony and who went on to also design a number of other public buildings in the city, including the Barracks Arch and the Perth Town Hall. The gaol was built using sub-contract labour with stone provided by convict labour. The stone was cut from limestone cliffs in Rocky Bay near Fremantle and floated up the Swan River on barges. The first stage cost £2220/15/10 ($4443).

While construction was underway, the Enquirer newspaper appealed for provision of facilities for hangings at the gaol.

On Wednesday last the execution of Samuel Stanley and the aboriginal native Jacob took place a little distance from the Perth Causeway, ... While on this subject we cannot help expressing a hope that a portion of the new Perth Gaol may be appropriated to a fitting place of execution. If such an arrangement were carried out, such spectacles we have here recorded would soon cease.

The first execution took place in 1855 in an execution yard on the south side of the site. After complaints, the sides of the gallows were enclosed to hide the executions from public gaze. The gallows remained until the gaol ceased operating in 1888.

Colonial prisoners were mainly housed in the gaol from its opening, but in 1858, control transferred to the Imperial Convict Establishment which managed the convicts, and the colonial prisoners were transferred to Fremantle Prison. Transportation of convicts ended in 1868 and in 1875 the gaol was handed back to the colonial government. In 1886 it was reported that the gaol was overcrowded with 128 prisoners and at times the inmate population had reached 150. Later that year the Convict Establishment was disbanded, leading to the imminent demise of the gaol. The last prisoner was transferred to Fremantle in about 1888 and it ceased being used as a gaol from that date.

It was used briefly as the Perth courthouse before that returned to Stirling Gardens, and for a few years it had occasional use by the Police and other government departments.