Casuarina Prison is the main maximum-security prison for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, located in the

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia suburb of

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

. The prison accommodates minimum-, medium- and maximum-security prisoners. It was opened in 1991 to replace

Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottage ...

, which was 130 years old. The prison was the scene of a riot on Christmas Day 1998. The prison featured in the documentary ''Australia's Hardest Prison: Lockdown Oz'' on the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

channel in 2008, following the lives of prisoners and officers. In 2013 the prison was the setting for the film ''

Son of a Gun Son of a gun is an exclamation in American and British English. It can be used encouragingly or to compliment, as in "You son of a gun, you did it!" Definition The ''Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary'' and ''Webster's Dictionary'' both defin ...

''. The prison has been subject of multiple legal actions due to alleged "inhumane conditions". In 2022, seventeen teenagers were relocated to the maximum security prison prompting a class action. The Department of Justice has defended its actions, while victim advocates have raised concerns around the law firm representing the youth. The

Australian Human Rights Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but opera ...

has raised concerns about the issue of teenagers being held at the prison, prompting calls for further action.

Notable prisoners

Jack Roche Jack Roche is an Australian convicted on a charge of conspiring to commit an offence provided for by the Crimes (Internationally Protected Persons) Act 1976 to destroy an internationally protected building, the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Aust ...

Dante Arthurs Dante Wyndham Arthurs (born 8 August 1984) is an Australian murderer, convicted of the murder of eight-year-old Sofia Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu. On 17 November 2007 Arthurs pleaded guilty to the charges of murder and unlawful detention and was co ...

David Birnie David John Birnie (16 February 1951 – 7 October 2005) and Catherine Margaret Birnie ( née Harrison; born 23 May 1951) were an Australian couple from Perth, Western Australia, who murdered four women at their home in 1986, and attempted to m ...

(1951–2005) *

Robert Bropho Robert Charles Bropho (9 February 1930 – 24 October 2011) was a Ballardong Noongar Australian Aboriginal, rights activist and convicted serial child sex offender from Perth, Western Australia. Bropho was leader of the Swan Valley Nyung ...

(1930–2011) * Terence Kelly, alleged kidnapper of Cleo Smith * Bradley Edwards Claremont Serial Killer

References

External links

Casuarina Prison – Department of Corrective Services

Report of an Unannounced Inspection of the IOU and the SHU at Casuarina Prison (2000)
(pdf)
Report of a Follow-up Inspection of the Special Management Units at Casuarina Prison (2001)
(pdf) {{Authority control 1991 establishments in Australia Prisons in Western Australia Maximum security prisons in Australia