Hayes Prison Farm, a former
Australian
minimum security prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
for males, was established on land at
Hayes, near
New Norfolk
New Norfolk is a town on the River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543.
Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Highway, New Norfolk is a modern Australian region ...
,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. The facility was operated by the Tasmanian Prison Service, an
agency of the
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
of the
Government of Tasmania
The Tasmanian Government is the democratic administrative authority of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invit ...
. Located on , the facility accepted
felons
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...
convicted under Tasmanian and/or
Commonwealth legislation. The facility was closed in late 2012.
Facilities
The original site consisted of an orchard, grazing land and a small forest. The prison was opened in 1937 and consisted of single wooden huts for 20 persons, built by prisoners. Another 50 single huts were built as numbers increased. A 50-cell block was built in 1968 and an extra block of 20 cells was built in 1970.
[ The cell and administration buildings were replaced with concrete block construction in 1964 and are still in use today. At its peak, Hayes had large market vegetable gardens, 1,000 pigs, 1,800 laying hens, 2,000 sheep, an award-winning dairy herd and a clay processing plant that sold clay to Salamanca potters.][ Three truckloads packed with vegetables left the prison farm each week. Their customers included the Royal Derwent Hospital, Lachlan Park, the Royal Hobart and St John's hospitals, several nursing homes in the Hobart region, government departments and the prison itself. More than 300 cows are at Hayes. The farm is also responsible for a much smaller herd, which keeps the grass short at Government House in Hobart. Hayes sells 1.1 million litres of milk to dairy company National Foods each year. It also grows about of glasshouse, vine-ripened tomatoes and 1,700 bales of hay and silage.][
The purpose of the farm is to assist inmates to develop skills to prepare them for exiting prison and to address recidivism.][ Should the closure proceed, Tasmania will be the only ]state
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that does not have a minimum security open facility. Government officials expect to yield up to A$2.5 million from the sale of Hayes.
In July 2011, three prisoners escaped in two separate incidents over three weeks, two of whom were caught within 24 hours.
The Tasmanian Government closed Hayes Prison Farm in August 2012 and moved all inmates to the minimum security Ron Barwick facility at Risdon Prison.
The property was sold to a private owner in January 2015.
Notable prisoners
* James Ryan O'Neill
References
External links
Tasmanian Department of Justice: Prison Service – Facility contact details
{{TasmanianPrisons
1937 establishments in Australia
2012 disestablishments in Australia
Defunct prisons in Tasmania