Redruth Gaol (later the Redruth Reformatory) is a historic former prison in

Burra, South Australia Burra is a pastoral centre and historic tourist town in the mid-north of South Australia. It lies east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, and on Burra Creek. The town began as a single company ...

, now operating as a museum. It was the first prison in South Australia to be built outside of the state capital,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. The gaol was built in 1856. It was reported in January 1866 that it contained no prisoners, despite being an active prison. In 1871, it was gazetted as the place of confinement for persons arrested on warrants from the Local Courts of Redruth, Clare, Riverton and Auburn, with Georgetown added in 1874. In 1876, it had problems with overcrowding, with 22 prisoners in a total of only eight cells. It was reported in 1879, at the time of the construction of the

Old Gladstone Gaol The Old Gladstone Gaol is a historic former prison in Gladstone, South Australia. It is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register. The prison was built between 1879 and 1881. It was built to address chronic overcrowding in regional prison ...

, that Redruth was too small and in a poor state of repair. By 1894, Redruth Gaol had again received little use for some time, and was costing £370 per annum despite holding only three prisoners; as such, the decision was made to close the prison in that year. Prisoners north of Burra were sent to Gladstone, while prisoners south of Burra were sent to Adelaide. It was reopened as a girls reformatory in 1897. The reformatory was closed in 1922, when Acting Premier John George Bice declared that it was "entirely inadequate for its purpose." The residents were moved to a Salvation Army home in the

suburb of

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

. The reformatory had seen a number of problems prior to its closure, with the matron reprimanded in 1920 following complaints about its management, and an inmate riot in February 1921; by July 1921, it only held 13 inmates. It was used for the filming of the 1979 movie ''

Breaker Morant Harry "The Breaker" Harbord Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902), more popularly known as Breaker Morant, was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, bush poet, military officer, and war criminal who was co ...

''. The building was restored in the late 1980s, with the National Trust of Australia and the

Commonwealth Bank of Australia The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, busine ...

funding the renovations as an Australian Bicentenary project. It was subsequently opened as a museum containing various historical displays. It is open to the public as part of the Burra Heritage Passport tour, with the site operated by the National Trust. It was listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. ...

on 24 July 1980 and on the former Register of the National Estate on 21 March 1978.

References

{{coords, -33.6645, 138.9330, display=title 1856 establishments in Australia 1894 disestablishments in Australia Defunct prisons in South Australia South Australian Heritage Register Museums in South Australia South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate Prison museums in Australia