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Newcastle
gaol was constructed in
1818 on a site overlooking the ocean above Newcastle Beach and
divided from the inhabited portion of the town by a
Tract
of sand. The vegetation had been
removed from these sand hills to prevent escaping convicts concealing
themselves.
The gaol was a two storied
building and surrounded by a stone wall 12 feet high with foundations of stone
and walls of brick. In the interior of the structure, wide corridors ran the
entire extent of the building, on either side of which were strong barred
cells. The upper story was similar. In the gaol yard, various instruments of
torture stood out prominently
Outside the walls a cottage
stood which was occupied by the keepers and turnkeys; through this cottage an
entrance led to the interior of the gaol. The building was substantially
constructed of brick, stone and hardwood. Here the convicts were flogged and
public
Executions
were carried out.
Morris Landers was appointed gaoler in 1819.
He gave evidence before
Commissioner J.T. Bigge - January 1820. 1. How long have you been in
your present situation? About ten months. 2. Are you a prisoner? I am a
prisoner for life. 3. What is your pay or allowance? I have no pay, but 1 have
a ration and a half and the indulgence of a government man. 4. How do you
employ the government man? He works for a settler who allows me seven
shillings per week and he [the settler] gets his [the convict's] ration. 5.
What is the number of prisoners now confined in the gaol? Sixty six and of
these twelve are sick........Read
more here
In May 1822 James Croft was appointed
Gaoler. Croft was an ex convict who arrived on the
Lady Castlereagh
in 1818 after being sentenced to transportation for life in Leicester.
John Hooper who arrived on the
'Hibernia
in 1819 was
turnkey at the gaol in 1828.
The gaol became overcrowded as the Assizes
dates neared. In the beginning of 1842 a total of 164 people were incarcerated
behind the walls - 111 men and 53 women. The Governor of the gaol was
congratulated for his management of the situation at this time for preventing
an outbreak of 'pestilential fever' due to the overcrowding.
Prisoners may have been forced to travel great
distances. In Scone a complaint in the early 1840's was that even those
convicted of minor offences such as drunkenness were harshly treated. If they
were unable to pay their fine they were sentenced to 48 hours in Newcastle
gaol, despite the availability of two pairs of stocks in the Scone lock up.
Many were willing to make any sacrifice to save themselves the walk to Newcastle and were known to pay 10/- for the
loan of a guinea to pay the fine. If they were unable to raise the required
amount they could expect to be absent for up to a month as the escort to
Newcastle was often very slow.
By 1842 executions were no longer being carried out within the walls of the
gaol or in a prominent position nearby.
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Thomas Homer who was executed for the murder of his overseer Mr. Stone
had to walk quite a distance to the gallows which were erected in a hollow and
able to be 'witnessed only by those assembled on the spot'.
In June 1842 a correspondent wrote to the Sydney
Gazette telling of the decayed state of the Newcastle gaol - 'a
military guard is requisite to prevent the escape of the prisoners. About
sixty men were sent for trial to Maitland and were it not for the military
guard stationed at the gaol day and night, the prisoners with ease may have
thrown it down and escaped'. The gaol was said to be capable of holding
only half the number that were incarcerated there.
By
1843 Maitland was
campaigning for a new gaol. Situated 20 miles from Maitland, Newcastle
Gaol was described as miserably deficient both as regards safe custody and the
classification of prisoners. Bond and free, debtors and felons were all
indiscriminately mixed together. The gaoler John Field thought some
committed petty thefts for the purpose of being sent to gaol as they had
nothing to do and lived better than they did out of prison; there was not only
no hard work in the gaol but there was no work of any kind by which the
prisoners could be employed. Besides the inadequacies and risk of escape,
considerable expense was incurred in the transmission of prisoners from
Newcastle to Maitland at each Circuit Court and Quarter Sessions and back to
Newcastle after they had taken their trials.
Sometimes the military were called on to restore order at
the gaol. In 1844 a disturbance took place in the gaol airing yard where male
prisoners were confined. The main instigators were Norfolk Island expirees who
were again imprisoned after escaping from the Newcastle hospital in the cutter
'Brothers'. The men became unruly and insubordinate towards the gaol
constables and Mr. Field immediately called for a military guard from the
barracks. The soldiers secured the prisoners who were later sentenced to
solitary confinement for a month.
A Proclamation dated December 20 1848 was published in the
Government Gazette declaring the gaol in East Maitland to be the gaol
for the Northern Circuit District.
On 31 December 1848 the Newcastle Gaol was closed and inmates were transferred
to
Maitland Gaol,
although some convicts remained in Newcastle to work on construction of the
Newcastle Breakwater.
They lived at the gaol until 1855 when the formidable old building was closed
as a prison. It was used for some years for the storage of gunpowder before
being condemned. Some of the walls and foundations were removed when the
site was excavated for the tram terminus at the eastern end of Scott Street.
However even in 1897 parts of the foundations could still be seen cropping out
of the sand on the 'Old Gaol Hill'.
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