Risdon Prison Complex - History

History

Correctional facilities at Risdon have been constructed in two phases, between 1956 and 1963, and again between 2001 to 2006.

A series of escapes from the Campbell Street Gaol, Hobart resulted in a 1943 Royal Commission into the H.M. Gaol Department. In 1949 the Gaols Department obtained by compulsory acquisition a 90 acres (36 ha) property on the eastern side of the Derwent River, not far from Risdon Cove where the initial European settlement of Tasmania occurred. In 1956, plans commenced to design the prison and construction was completed in 1960.

Facilities for female prisoners were completed in 1963, and inmates were moved from Campbell Street Gaol, resulting in closure of the Campbell Street Gaol. The new women's facility, initially known as Risdon Women's Prison, is now called the Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison.

In 1974, a low security unit, later called the Ron Barwick Medium Security Prison, was opened; accommodating 120 inmates at its peak. By 1981, declining numbers resulted in closure of the unit. The minimum security as re–opened in 1991 and closed again in 1997 on the grounds of economic viability. The medium security facility opened again, and closed in 2004 as part of the redevelopment of the whole complex. In 2007, the facility was reopened as a minimum security centre.

A special prison hospital was built in 1978, that houses persons suffering mental illness who are subject to the criminal justice system.