The Richmond Gaol is a convict era building and tourist attraction in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Tasmania, and is the oldest intact gaol in

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. Building of the gaol commenced in 1825, and predates the establishment of the penal colony at Port Arthur in 1833. One of the tasks completed by the convicts who were held at Richmond Gaol was the construction of

Richmond Bridge Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California ...

. Most of the gaol buildings have not been changed since convict times. They include an example of a female

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

cell, measuring s by The buildings include a

chain gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...

sleeping rooms, a flogging yard, a cookhouse and holding rooms. The buildings also feature historical relics and documents.

Beginnings

Settlers of Hobart Town were moving away in order to search for more farming land. The area of Sorell was quite established and it was being extended into the area soon to be known as Richmond. In the meantime, convicts were used as virtual slave labour to create all kinds of

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

like roads, bridges and public buildings. Finally the township of Richmond was proclaimed in 1824. A court house to service the police district in the area was built in 1825 and this was the start of the gaol building.

Expanding the gaol

By the 1830s the gaol was horribly overcrowded because of it being so small - 19 square metres - and prisoners were forced to sleep in the passageways. The two storey building began construction in 1832 and completed in 1833. The upper level served as the Gaoler's Residence with the downstairs section being storage. In 1835, the Eastern and Western wings were added and it's the Western Wing which serves as the entrance to the building to this very day. Once these were completed it created a better segregation between male and female prisoners. The female wing contained a new cookhouse and bake oven. In an attempt to negate the

escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

s and escape attempts from the gaol, it was surrounded with a stone wall. This was done in 1840.

Decline, closure and rescue

By the mid-1850s, the place was only being used as a Watch House due to the cessation of convict transportation. In 1861, it was controlled by the municipal police and when they were removed to become centralised in Hobart, the gaol simply became a group of

holding cell A prison cell (also known as a jail cell) is a small room in a prison or police station where a prisoner is held. Cells greatly vary by their furnishings, hygienic services, and cleanliness, both across countries and based on the level of punishm ...

s. By the end of the 1920s, it was

abandoned Abandon, abandoned, or abandonment may refer to: Common uses * Abandonment (emotional), a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded * Abandonment (legal), a legal term regarding property ** Chi ...

. In 1945, the gaol was rescued by becoming a State Reserve and through legislation in the 1970s, it was run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, meaning the gaol could be classified as an historic site under their control.

Solitary cells

The gaol had solitary cells (or

). The idea was you could be place in pitch darkness and complete silence for a period of 24 hours to thirty days. The time period depended upon what you were charged with.

Flagellation Yard

Hangings never took place at Richmond Gaol but flagellations (whippings) did. You would be strapped to a wooden pyramid shaped thing and the lashes meted out accordingly. In some colonies it seems a

kidney belt A kidney belt is a wide elastic band that is placed around the lower torso that is intended to protect a person's internal organs from damage from either strain or shock. Kidney belts are often worn by weightlifters, and, sometimes, by manua ...

would be used to minimise harm to the kidneys but from the illustrations of flagellations taking place in the yard, this seemed to be absent. Even though some people in Hobart Town would be sentenced to 500 lashes, in Richmond the number was a little more sympathetic. It would start at 25 with the number occasionally hitting 75 or 100. As painful as it sounds, salt would be rubbed into the flesh wounds created by the

cat-o-nine tails The cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whip or flail that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and British Army, and as a judicial punishment in Britain ...

but this was actually done to minimise infection. The lashings at Richmond Gaol (or any other gaol which undertook whippings - i.e.: Adelaide Gaol, Melbourne Gaol) would have a medical officer standing by to check whether the persons' life would be in danger. Should the person be deemed unfit to continue they would be taken down. However, once they were fit enough again, they would be strapped back up to have the remainder of their sentence handed out.

Ghosts

Like most old sites like this, it has its fair share of ghost stories. The third cell in the Men's Block is apparently quite well known for the terrible effect it can have on people in there. People claim to hear moaning and deep sighs and some people claim they get a cold shiver as they approach.Ghost Stories of Richmond, Tasmania by Granny Jones, Regal Publications, Tasmania.

References

The Richmond Gaol... 1825 - Revised Second Edition by Walter B. Pridmore, 2007.

External links

Discover Tasmania's Richmond Gaol information

Richmond Village Convict Trail

{{Convicts in Australia History of Tasmania Defunct prisons in Tasmania Convictism in Tasmania 1825 establishments in Australia Museums in Tasmania Prison museums in Australia Tasmanian Heritage Register