Darlinghurst Gaol
 An aerial view of Darlinghurst Gaol, 1930 | |
| Location | Darlinghurst, New South Wales |
|---|---|
| Closed | 1914 |
Darlinghurst Gaol was an Australian prison located in Darlinghurst, New South Wales. The site is bordered by Victoria, Burton and Forbes streets, with entrances on Forbes and Burton Streets.
History
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Construction on Darlinghurst Gaol wall began in 1822, with completion of some of the cellblocks in 1840. The gaol was ready for occupation in a year later, with the first prisoners occupying the gaol on 7 June 1841.
The gaol was finally completed in 1885. The main material used for construction of the gaol is Sydney sandstone, cut into large blocks by convicts. Convict markings on the blocks are visible along the upper half of the wall on Darlinghurst Road. A tall circular chapel stands in the middle of the site, around which are sited the six rectangular cellblocks in a radial fashion.
Australian poet Henry Lawson spent time incarcerated here during some of the turbulent years of his life and described the gaol as Starvinghurst Gaol due to meagre rations given to the inmates. The site is now open to the public as The National Art School. The last hanging at the gaol was in 1907.[1]
Hangings were open to public viewing throughout several decades. People would gather at the front gate of the gaol in Forbes Street, and the condemned would be brought out on a platform built above the gaol gate. The public executioner Alexander Green lived for a time in a hut outside the eastern wall of the gaol, would then leave his house to the jeers and catcalls of the gathering crowd, enter the prison and do his job. Seventy-six people were hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol, but most of them met their demise on the scaffold inside the gaol in a corner of E-wing.
Modern-day use
The site was transferred in 1921 to the New South Wales Department of Education, who adapted the building for use as the East Sydney Technical College. The National Art School was established in 1995 and is now the sole occupant of the site. The Darlinghurst Road side of the Gaol, (commonly known as "the wall") was for many years a popular place for male prostitutes to offer their services.
Notable prisoners
- Thomas and John Clarke – bushrangers from the upper Shoalhaven in south-east New South Wales, hanged on 25 June 1867.
- Louisa Collins[2] – the last woman to hang in New South Wales.
- Albert Thomas Dryer – founder of the Irish National Association of Australasia.
- John Dunn – Australian bushranger, member of Ben Hall's gang, hanged in the gaol on 19 March 1866.
- Frank Gardiner – Australian bushranger and mastermind of the Forbes gold escort robbery at Eugowra on 15 June 1862 (sentenced to 32 years, but pardoned early).
- Jimmy Governor – upon whom Thomas Keneally based his novel, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.
- Henry Lawson – Australian writer and poet.
- Henry James O'Farrell
- Charles Sandys Packer – prominent Australian composer, musician, organist, pianist and singer.
- Andrew George Scott – known as Captain Moonlite, Australian bushranger.
See also
References
- ↑ NSW Police Website
- ↑ R. v. Collins, Moreton Bay Courier (NSWSupC 8 December 1888).
Further reading
- Deborah Beck, Hope in Hell: a history of Darlinghurst Gaol and the National Art School, Allen and Unwin, 2005
- Kerr, James Semple, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, S.H. Ervin Gallery, National Trust of Australia (NSW), Sydney, 1988
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Darlinghurst, New South Wales. |
External links
- National Art School - The school occupying the site today
- reference and article (CC-by-sa) in the Dictionary of Sydney
- State Library of New South Wales - Discover Collections - Halls of Justice
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Coordinates: 33°52′47″S 151°13′07″E / 33.87972°S 151.21861°E