A nursery and workers camp was established by the

Forests Commission Victoria The Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) was the main government authority responsible for management and protection of State forests in Victoria, Australia between 1918 and 1983. The Commission was responsible for ″forest policy, prevention and ...

(FCV) in 1949 at Olsens Bridge at the head of the Morwell River, which is just east of

Boolarra Boolarra is a small township located in the Latrobe Valley, in central Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. At th2016 Census Boolarra had a population of 973 with 48% males and 52% females and an average age of 50. The Boolarra Folk Festival is held ...

in Victoria. The nursery was established to grow

mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountai ...

seedlings for the

Strzelecki Ranges The Strzelecki Ranges (pronounced STREHZ leckee) is a set of low mountain ridges located in the West Gippsland and South Gippsland regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The Ranges are named after Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish explor ...

reforestation scheme. The scheme, which began in the early 1930s, ran quietly and successfully for nearly 60 years and is believed to have been the largest and most sustained reforestation project of its type in Australia. The FCV workers camp was later to become the HM Morwell River Prison in May 1961, where up to 80 inmates worked in the nursery and planted seedlings across the Strzeleckis under the guidance of FCV employees. The Prison was a "Minimum Security" facility and escapes occurred in 1962, 1967 and 1968. Reputation has it that prisoners often secretly made their way to the Boolarra Hotel, and even as far as Morwell Shopping Centre. It's also rumoured the inmates brewed

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

in the nearby bush.. Guards were, at times, not above joining prisoners in their illicit meals. On at least one occasion in 1968, staff and inmates at Morwell River Camp stole a number of sheep from a neighbour’s paddock. This misdemeanour was taken very seriously and resulted in a prosecution by the Forests Commission. Probably its most notable inmates were media commentator

Derryn Hinch Derryn Nigel Hinch (born 9 February 1944) is a New Zealand-born media personality, politician, actor, journalist and published author. He is best known for his career in Australia, on Melbourne radio and television. He served as a Senator for V ...

in 1987, followed by prominent football umpire

Harry Beitzel Henry John "Harry" Beitzel (6 April 1927 – 13 August 2017) was an Australian football umpire, print, radio and television sports broadcaster and media personality best known for his contribution to Australian rules football. Early sporting l ...

in 1994. The nursery was run separately by the Forests Commission, and at it height in the mid-1970s produced in excess of one million seedlings each year. However an internal review of the Department‘s extensive nursery operations in 1991 recommended the closure of Olsens Bridge, which ceased soon after. Seedlings were then sourced from HM Won Wron Prison nursery near Yarram. The Morwell River Prison closed in 1997 and the remaining inmates transferred to a newly built

Fulham Correctional Centre Fulham Correctional Centre is a medium security Australian prison located in Hopkins Road, Sale, Victoria, Australia. The prison consists of mainstream medium and minimum (fenced and unfenced) security cell blocks, management (solitary), and a ...

near Sale. The prison complex was then used briefly, and unsuccessfully, as a school adventure camp but the site deteriorated quickly and became overgrown with blackberries and scrub, so that by 2006 only a few dilapidated buildings and bare concrete slabs remained visible. The land was sold in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morwell River, HM Prison 1964 establishments in Australia 1997 disestablishments in Australia Defunct prisons in Victoria (Australia)