The Perth Gaol (often referred to as the Old Perth Gaol) was a

gaol 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, correct ...

built in

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 ...

, the state capital of

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 ...

, between 1854 and 1856 to house convicts and other prisoners. It is located just west of

Beaufort Street Beaufort Street is a major road in the inner north-eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting the Morley area to the Perth central business district. For most of its length, it is a single-carriageway, two-way road with two lanes i ...

. It operated until March 1888 when the last prisoner was transferred to

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 ...

. The main gaol building, minus the yards, stands today adjacent to the

Western Australian Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...

in Perth. In addition to a number of displays of colonial and prison related artefacts, the building houses the museum's retail shop and coffee shop.

History

Prior to the construction of the Perth Gaol, the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

had only the

Round House Roundhouse may refer to: Architecture and buildings Types * Roundhouse (dwelling), a kind of house with circular walls, prehistoric and modern, all over the world ** Atlantic roundhouse, an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and weste ...

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, the partially completed

(construction began in 1851 and completed in 1859) and a six-cell lock-up which had been built in about 1830 opposite

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

. With the growth of the city it was deemed that the latter was an inappropriate location for a gaol and it was demolished in 1855 (the site now occupied by The Deanery). A new site was selected by the Colonial Secretary, Charles Piesse and the

Surveyor-General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor gen ...

John Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in t ...

Read from a photograph on display in the Gaol museum display and reserved on a rise on what is now near the intersection of

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

and Francis Streets. With the expanding population and with the importation of convicts in 1850 to provide a labour force for public works, there was a need for a facility to house inmates near the city. A proposal was submitted to Governor Charles Fitzgerald in December 1853 for such a facility comprising two floors with a basement. The project was approved but construction took longer than expected and substantial modifications to the original design were made while work progressed. The final building comprised a cruciform layout with cells, a chapel, gaolers' quarters and prisoners' yards. The design was by architect

Richard Roach Jewell Richard Roach Jewell (1810 in Barnstaple, Devon, England – 1891 in Perth, Western Australia) was an architect who designed many of the important public buildings in Perth during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He was employed to sup ...

, the city Chief of Works who had only recently arrived in the colony and who went on to also design a number of other public buildings in the city, including the

Barracks Arch The Barracks Arch is located on the corner of Malcolm and Elder Streets, at the western end of St Georges Terrace in Perth, Western Australia. The Barracks Designed by Richard Roach Jewell, the Barracks were originally built from 1863 to 18 ...

and the

Perth Town Hall The Perth Town Hall, situated on the corner of Hay and Barrack streets in Perth, Western Australia, is the only town hall built by convicts in Australia. Upon completion it was the tallest structure in Perth. History Designed by Richard Roach ...

. The gaol was built using sub-contract labour with stone provided by convict labour. The stone was cut from

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cliffs in Rocky Bay near

and floated up the Swan River on

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s. The first stage cost £2220/15/10 ($4443). While construction was underway, the ''Enquirer'' newspaper appealed for provision of facilities for

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

s at the gaol. The first execution took place in 1855 in an execution yard on the south side of the site. After complaints, the sides of the gallows were enclosed to hide the executions from public gaze. The gallows remained until the gaol ceased operating in 1888. Colonial prisoners were mainly housed in the gaol from its opening, but in 1858, control transferred to the Imperial Convict Establishment which managed the convicts, and the colonial prisoners were transferred to

. Transportation of convicts ended in 1868 and in 1875 the gaol was handed back to the colonial government. In 1886 it was reported that the gaol was overcrowded with 128 prisoners and at times the inmate population had reached 150. Later that year the Convict Establishment was disbanded, leading to the imminent demise of the gaol. The last prisoner was transferred to Fremantle in about 1888 and it ceased being used as a gaol from that date. It was used briefly as the Perth courthouse before that returned to

Stirling Gardens Stirling Gardens is a small public park in Perth, Western Australia. Located on the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street, west of the Government House and north of the Supreme Court buildings, it contains a group of significant scu ...

, and for a few years it had occasional use by the police and other government departments.

Executions

Perth Museum

In 1891 the building was renamed to the Geological Museum and used to store Reverend Charles Nicolay's geological collection. In 1892 the building was renamed as the Perth Museum, storing the

Swan River Mechanics' Institute The Swan River Mechanics' Institute was the Swan River Colony's first cultural centre, established on 21 January 1851. In time it was to house an extensive and well-used subscription library and a natural history collection, including botani ...

museum collection as well as a collection of Aboriginal artifacts from the Police Department. At about the same time, the building was substantially modified with the roof lowered and the entire central cell block removed. A northern wing was built in 1895. Construction of the adjacent

Jubilee Building The Jubilee Building is part of the Western Australian Museum in Perth, Western Australia. Designed in the Victorian Byzantine style by George Temple-Poole and supervised by his 1895 successor John Harry Grainger, it was opened in 1899. The b ...

commenced in 1897 and finished in 1899, which gave a new home to the museum, with the gaol continuing to be used until the present day as a museum annex for displays and storage. From 1968 until about 1976, major renovations of the gaol were undertaken including raising the roof to its original height and alignment. As few original plans were available, it was not attempted to return the building to its exact original configuration, however the exterior is now substantially restored. Fire doors were fitted with improved ground floor and first floor access for visitors. The building is now a part of the

Perth Cultural Centre The Perth Cultural Centre is an area of central Perth, Western Australia, near the James Street Mall. It is home to a number of cultural institutions including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, State Library of ...

, which includes the

, the

Art Gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

, the

J S Battye Library The J S Battye Library (more properly known as the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History) is an arm of the State Library of Western Australia. It stores much of the state's historical records and original publications including books, ...

and the

State Library of Western Australia The State Library of Western Australia is a research, education, reference and public lending library located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. It is a portfolio agency of the Western Australia Department of Culture and t ...

References

External links

* * {{WesternAustralianPrisons Convictism in Western Australia Defunct prisons in Western Australia Prison museums in Australia Museums in Perth, Western Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Perth

History

Executions

Perth Museum

See also

References

External links