Boggo Road Gaol

Boggo Road Gaol in Brisbane, Australia, was Queensland’s main jail from the 1880s to the 1980s, by which time it had become notorious for poor conditions and rioting. Located on Annerley Road in Dutton Park, an inner southern suburb of Brisbane, it is the only surviving intact gaol in Queensland that reflects penological principles of the 19th century.[1] After closing in 1992, the larger 1960s section was demolished, leaving the heritage listed section (built as a women’s prison in 1905), which is open to the public through guided tours run by Boggo Road Gaol Pty Ltd.[2]

Boggo Road Gaol
Structure in 2015
LocationDutton Park, Queensland, Australia
Security classMaximum Security
OpenedJuly 1883
ClosedNovember 1989
Managed byAt first prisons fell under the control of the Sheriff until the 1890s. The Prisons Department (later the Department of Correctional Services), ran the site until closure. As a historical site the prison was run by different government departments, including State Development and Public Works.

It was officially known as "Brisbane Gaol" but was commonly known as "Boggo Road" after the original name of the Annerley Road. A new street formed after 1996 now has the name Boggo Road.

History
Entrance to the gaol, ~1936

In the 1850s the district where the gaol was subsequently located was known unofficially as 'Boggo', and by the 1860s the track through the area was known as Boggo Road.[3]

It has been suggested that the name came about because the area was very boggy in wet weather. Another theory is that Boggo (or 'Bloggo' or 'Bolgo') was a corruption of an Aboriginal word meaning 'two leaning trees', and that the road was named after two prominent trees at either One-Mile Swamp or what is now Wilkins Street, off Annerley Road.[3] Another possibility is that Boggo Road was an unofficial and unmaintained short-cut between Ipswich Road and Stanley Street that became very boggy after rain.[4] Boggo Road was officially renamed Annerley Road in 1903, but the colloquial name for the gaol that had long been in use stayed.[5]

In 1863, land off Boggo Road was set aside as a government reserve, finally proclaimed a gaol reserve in 1880.[6][5] The first cellblock opened on 2 July 1883,[7] built by Robert Porter, contained 57 cells, and was constructed using materials from the demolished Petrie Terrace Jail.[7][8] In 1903 a new prison was built to hold female prisoners.[1] This later became known as the No.2 Division, and is now the only section still standing, and is listed on the Queensland State Heritage Register. The 'No.1 Division' built in 1883 was the scene of 42 hangings, including the hanging of Ernest Austin in 1913—the last execution in Queensland. A new prison was built around the perimeter of No.1 prison during the 1960s and No.1 prison was demolished leaving area for an oval and recreational facilities for the newly built prison, which had running cold water and toilet facilities in all cells. Under the oval was the facility that became known as the "black hole" where prisoners were subjected to "punishment". The "black hole" continued in use until the late '80s. A new women’s gaol was also built at this time. The gaol was originally designed to cater for 40 male prisoners serving as a holding place for prisoners heading to St Helena Island in Moreton Bay.[9] However, by 1989 there were 187 male prisoners and the women's facility had around 200 additional prisoners.

Protests at the gaol during the 1970s saw inmates undertake hunger strikes, roof-top protests, and rioting over the poor conditions and treatment. The prison was constantly in the headlines and became notorious around Australia. Cells in the No. 2 prison did not have any form of sanitation, and facilities for washing were lacking.[8] Prisoners were required to use a bucket through the evening for toilet breaks and empty it, or 'slop out', in the morning. A Queensland Government inquiry into the living conditions of State prisons found Boggo Road to be outdated and inadequate for prisoners' needs. No. 2 Division was closed in 1989. No. 1 division was closed in 1992 and was demolished in 1996 (a small section of what was "C5" and guard tower still remain).[1] The women’s prison operated until 2000 and was demolished in 2006.[6]

Since 1992 the No. 2 Division was home to the Boggo Road Gaol Museum, which featured displays of prison-related artefacts. Throughout the 1990s ex-officers conducted guided tours of the site, and from 2003 the museum and tours were operated by the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society, a non-profit incorporated association of volunteers.[10] Since December 2012, Boggo Road Gaol became a tourist attraction for Queensland, with guided tours being conducted by Boggo Road Gaol Pty, who are now officially licensed to run tours and events at the gaol.[11][12] Like many other similar places around the country, the site also hosts guided ghost tours.

Redevelopment of the surrounding site began in 2006, leading to the temporary closure of the Boggo Road Gaol historical site. Since 2012 the gaol has been re-opened to the public.[11] Boggo Road has since been turned into an urban village called Boggo Road Urban Village and was completed in 2010.[13][14]

On television

Boggo Road Gaol was featured on an episode of Haunted Down Under on Amazon Prime.

Heritage listing

The No. 2 Division and the remnants of No. 1 Division were listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1993.[15]

Notable prisoners
  • Hon. Gordon Brown – a former President of the Australian Senate[16]
  • James Finch and Andrew Stuart – the "Whiskey Au-Go-Go" murderers[17]
  • Nathan Jones – actor and professional wrestler
  • Debbie Kilroy  – prisoner rights activist, founder of Sisters Inside[18][19]
  • Patrick Kenniff – also known as Queensland's last bushranger[20]
  • Michael Peterson – Australian surfing legend
  • Wayne Michael Ryan  – convicted multiple bank robber who escaped Boggo Road Gaol twice (1988 and 1989)[21][22]
  • Ellen Thompson  – the only woman hanged in Queensland[23][24]
  • Arthur Ernest Halliday – murdered a taxi driver and was the only prisoner who managed to escape from the prison twice.[25]

Executions

42 prisoners have been hanged at the Gaol.[26]

Plaque on gallows beam used at Boggo Road Gaol
Name Year of birth Year of death Place of origin Victims
James Gardiner18641883ScotlandMurder of Ada Gardiner at Rockhampton[27]
Jangoc.18661883Australia (Aboriginal)Murder of Mrs Eliza Mills at Dingo[27]
George18581883Australia (Aboriginal)Rape of young girl at Rockhampton[27]
Walter Edward Gordon18571885EnglandMurder of Walter Bunning on Darr River Downs station[28]
Tim Tie18561886ChinaMurder of Jimmy Ah Fook near Dulbydilla[29]
Wong Tong18571886ChinaMurder of Cock Tow at the Seaview Plantation, Bundaberg[30]
Christopher Pickford18561887United StatesMurder of Martin Emmerson at Ravenswood[31]
Ellen Thompson18461887IrelandMurder of her husband William Thompson near Port Douglas[32]
John Harrison18601887EnglandMurder of William Thompson near Port Douglas[32]
Edmond Duhamel18511888FranceMurder of Sarah Descury at Rockhampton[33][34]
Sedin18641888JavaMurders of John Fitzgerald, Christian Mariager, and J. P. Davis at Normanton[33]
Donaldc.18631892Australia (Aboriginal)Rape of a married white woman[35]
Francis Charles Horrocks18751892QueenslandMurder of Rudolph Weissmuller at Mooraree[36]
George Gleeson18651892IndiaMurder of Patrick McKiernan at Prince of Wales Island[37]
Leonard William Moncado18501892ChileMurder of Bob, an Aboriginal boy aboard the barque "Sketty Belle"[38]
George Thomas Blantern18581893EnglandMurder of Flora McDonald at Marlborough[39]
Hatsuro Abe18631894JapanMurder of a Japanese woman named Omatzie at Thursday Island[40]
Mi-Orie18661895Malaita IslandMurder of Francis Macartney near Bundaberg[38]
Narasemai18621895Malaita IslandMurder of Francis Macartney near Bundaberg[38]
Sayer (Safhour)18701895Malaita IslandMurder of Peter Anderson at Etowrie, near Mackay[41]
Jacky18641895Australia (Aboriginal)Murder of Jacky Williams at Mount Morgan[42]
Frank Tinyana18581895FilipinoMurder of Senior Constable William Conroy at Thursday Island[43]
Willie Broome18701900Australia (Aboriginal)Murder of thirteen-year-old Mary Le Blowitz at Stanton

Harcourt, near Bundaberg[38]

Charles Beckman18591901GermanyMurder of Alfred Anderson at McCartney's Creek, near Bowen[44]
Wandee18811901South Sea IslandsMurder of Alfred Burnstead at Ayr[38]
John Rheuben18461901PortugalMurder of Fanny Hardwick at Rockhampton[38]
Orifough18791901South Sea IslandsMurder of Morris Summers at Ashburton, near Mackay[45]
David Alexander Brown18461901USAMurder of Graham Haygrath at Charters Towers[38]
Patrick Kenniff18651903NSWMurder of Police Constable George Doyle at Lethbridge's Pocket near Carnarvon[38]
Sow Too Low18751903Malaita IslandMurders of Sergeant David Johnson, John Martin and Alice Gunning in the Mackay area[46]
Gosano18701905South Sea IslandsMurder of Jack Parsons at Ingham[47]
James Warton18451905IrelandMurder of William Munday at Toowong[48]
Johannes18671906Ceylon (Sri Lanka)Murder of Police Constable Albert G. Price[49] at Mackay[50]
Twadiga18761906Solomon IslandsMurder of William Baulch at Mackay[50]
Look Kow18441906ChinaMurder of Lee Choy Yuen at Townsville[38][51]
August Millewski18551907GermanyMurder of Wallum Nabby at Nanango[52]
Bismarck18861909Australia (Aboriginal)Murder of Mrs Janet Evitts at Jundah[53]
Arthur Ross18881909EnglandMurder of James Muir (Bank Clerk) at Gayndah[54]
Alexander Bradshaw18821910QueenslandMurder of George Sutherland at Carron River (The charge of murder of Sutherland's wife Alice was then not proceeded with)[55][56]
George David Silva18841912Queensland/CeylonMurdered six members of the Ching family at Alligator Creek[57][58]
Charles Deen18651913CeylonMurder of Peter Dina (Or Dinah) at Innisfail[59][60]
Ernest Austin18901913VictoriaRape and murder of 11-year-old Ivy Mitchell at Cedar Creek Rd, Samford[61][62]

Boggo Road is mentioned in the Australian soap opera Prisoner as the prison where Joan Ferguson worked prior to coming to Melbourne. It was also visited in the season final of The Amazing Race Australia 2.[63]

gollark: * heavdrones for monitoring all systems ever
gollark: Can heavdrones not self-locate? Do you NOT have monitoring systems for all heavdrones ever?
gollark: Commencing...
gollark: A lisp minecraft thing might be neat, but what good wellmaintained lisps exist?
gollark: Is it now.

See also
  • Boggo Road Busway
  • List of Australian prisons

References
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  2. "Boggo Road Gaol". Archived from the original on 12 December 2004. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  3. "Why Boggo ?". Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. Vera Raymond (née Sanders), 1900-1982, resident of Annerley
  5. "Boggo Road Urban Village". Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. 14 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  6. "Boggo Road timeline". Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  7. Hogan, Janet (1982). Living History of Brisbane. Spring Hill, Queensland: Boolarang Publications. p. 53. ISBN 0-908175-41-8.
  8. "History of Brisbane's Dutton Park". ourbrisbane.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  9. Denise Cullen (15 September 2007). "Dark Secrets". The Australian. News Limited. Archived from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
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  12. "Boggo Road Gaol Tours". Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
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  17. "Boggo Jail". George Negus Tonight: Transcript. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 September 2004. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  18. Robertson, Joshua (4 January 2017). "Time served: how Debbie Kilroy went from jail to advising the government on sentencing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
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