Maitland Gaol
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| Maitland Gaol | |
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| Location: | Maitland, NSW |
| Status: | Closed (Museum) |
| Security class: | Originally male, then mixed |
| Capacity: | 174 but has reached 400+ |
| Opened: | 1848 |
| Closed: | 1998 |
| Managed by: | N/A |
Maitland Gaol is an Australian gaol or prison located in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. Its construction was started in 1844 and prisoners first entered the gaol in 1848. By the time of its closure, on the 31st of January 1998, it had become the longest continually run gaol in Australia. It has since been turned into a museum and popular tourist attraction.
[edit] History
Executions were open to the public until 1861. Hangings took place at the main gates and the back corner of the gaol. Sixteen men were executed at Maitland Gaol between 1849 and 1897 - all for rape or murder. There is still debate as to where some of these executions took place throughout the gaol. The last man executed at Maitland was Charles Hines in May 1897 for raping his stepdaughter, however he claimed he was innocent until he took his last breath.
In 1975 inmates rioted, setting fire to the maintenance block. They used a swag of home made weapons to attack the wardens, protesting about the prison system and the gaol's conditions. The infamous Darcy Dugan was blamed for inciting the riot, while 78 of the rioting inmates were transferred to other prisons.
In 1977, "Maddog" Russell Cox and 6 others escaped through an exhaust vent in the shower block. They were all back inside in 2 hours after a massive police swoop on the area.
A 5.5m long tunnel was discovered in Cell 7 in C Wing in 1980. The man who informed the warden of the tunnel had his throat cut so viciously it swung back on his shoulders. It was hidden with a sheet of plastic painted the same colour as the floor. The tunnel was filled in with two truckloads of concrete. There were many other escape attempts but most failed. Of the 32 attempted escapees, 31 were recaptured.
In 1978, a 23-year-old inmate protested for 16 hours by sitting on top of the gaol's Administration building. At one stage he disappeared over the roof returning with food. Armed with a softwood stake he waved to the Maitland Mercury newspaper and television journalists.
In 1993, a block of modern (to the time) cells were built above the kitchens designed to house only the prisoners who worked in the kitchens. These cells were designed to house, usually, only one inmate at a time. Only trusted inmates that showed good behaviour and had cooking skills worked in the kitchens.
Also built in 1993, 5-wing was a high-security cell block designed to house inmates who had committed heinous crimes or crimes against other inmates. 5-wing inmates had no contact with anyone at all. These inmates had there own excerise yards, which contained a shower. They were allowed in there for only an hour per day. This was the last cell block to be built before the gaol's closure in 1998. In this cell block was also a clinic designed to treat inmates who had swallowed razor blades or drugs.
In 1997, George Savvas and Ivan Milat had planned an escape from the gaol but were stopped by correctional officers. The day after the escape was planned for, Savvas was found dead in his cell after hanging himself. He and Milat were housed in the 5-wing cell block.
Maitland Gaol is recorded as a Heritage listed site of NSW State significance [1].
[edit] Notable prisoners
- Darcy Dugan
- Andrew Garforth, serving a life sentence for the murder and sexual assault of nine year old schoolgirl, Ebony Simpson.
- Ivan Milat, serving a life sentence after being found guilty of the Backpacker murders.
