Conditions at Petrie Terrace
Overcrowding soon became as much of a problem at Petrie Terrace as it had been at the older Queen Street gaol. The visiting surgeon was concerned that such a crowded gaol would lead to an increase in serious diseases, and the whole situation lent urgency to the move to erect the lunatic asylum at Woogaroo, which eventually opened in 1864. Later in the decade it also saw the opening of the gaols at Toowoomba and Rockhampton and the use of the ship Proserpine as a prison hulk, which was moored at Fort Lytton and received 104 prisoners during 1864.
Queensland’s first set of prison regulations were issued in April 1864, and they provided for the separation of the prisoners into six classes. The gaol at Petrie Terrace, however,was too small to enable this and it was to be some time before the classification of prisoners was practical in the colony. In his 1862report, the Registrar-General noted that:
“I need hardly point out... how utterly futile it is to make any attempt at the proper classification of the prisoners – young and old, the thrice-convicted felon and the lad guilty of robbing an orchard, the murderer, and the servant who has broken his agreement, are all huddled together; reformation is, I fear, under such circumstances, past hoping for.”
Although conditions were thought to be worse at St Helena Island, there were several factors that made Petrie Terrace unhealthy. In 1868, Dr William Hobbs, the visiting surgeon at the gaol, claimed that the ventilation at the gaol was “very imperfect”, especially in the hot climate, and the high gaol walls prevented air circulation. He also noted that the cellblocks were facing the wrong way and received too much sun, making them unbearably hot in summer. He thought that the main cause of sickness at the gaol arose from “the derangement of the digestive organs from want of exercise and from the superabundance of food that the prisoners are allowed”.
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Who were the Petrie Terrace prisoners?
The gaol was originally designed to hold both sexes, with individual room for 108 male and 36 female prisoners. Before 1867, the year that the penal establishment at St Helena Island was in full operation, the Petrie Terrace received an average of just over 600 prisoners per year. Of these, 10-15% were women, while 5-10% were classed as ‘lunatics’. From 1870 on, all female prisoners were sent to the gaol in Toowoomba. The oldest woman ever held at Petrie Terrace was 76 years old and was convicted of stealing clothes. The youngest was only 11 and was sent there for stealing poultry. The oldest male prisoner was 96 and was convicted of vagrancy, while the youngest male was sentenced for stealing money from a till when he was just ten years old.
Who were the Petrie Terrace prisoners?The gaol was originally designed to hold both sexes, with individual room for 108 male and 36 female prisoners. Before 1867, the year that the penal establishment at St Helena Island was in full operation, the Petrie Terrace received an average of just over 600 prisoners per year. Of these, 10-15% were women, while 5-10% were classed as ‘lunatics’. From 1870 on, all female prisoners were sent to the gaol in Toowoomba. The oldest woman ever held at Petrie Terrace was 76 years old and was convicted of stealing clothes. The youngest was only 11 and was sent there for stealing poultry. The oldest male prisoner was 96 and was convicted of vagrancy, while the youngest male was sentenced for stealing money from a till when he was just ten years old.
After 1870 the average number of prisoners per year dropped to under 500, and with a daily average that was just less than the capacity of the gaol it soon became clear that a new gaol would be required.
The staff
It was not only the prisoners who found life at the gaol difficult. The staff made a public comment about their conditions in July 1863, when they presented a petition to Parliament asking for more money, so that in the case of “debility or infirmity” they could receive medical attendance and medicine. Moreover, they complained of fatigue after working long shifts, often at night. Sundays were dreadful days when they could not go to the pub (old turnkeys rule – do not frequent places where you might meet some of your recent ‘guests’), and visits to church often ended in sleep because in “the hallowed precincts of a place of worship, the fatigue of the body, through the length of time on duty, and more especially at night, overpowers inclination, and shrouds it in unconquerable drowsiness”. It was signed by 14 men, describing themselves as “the Turnkeys of Her Majesty’s Gaol, and Warders of the Lunatic Asylum, Brisbane”.
One visitor to the gaol in 1876 was a reporter for The Week, who presented a somewhat rosier picture of life inside:
“One of the most noticeable features in connection with the gaol is the air of cleanliness and neatness which pervades the whole establishment. Every prisoner admitted has a bath and a shave, and those who intend to partake of [the chief Gaoler’s] hospitality for any length of time are supplied with a suit of clean clothes, and during their detention all the prisoners are obliged to take a bath at least once a week; but in this matter they do not need much pressing, as it rarely happens that the prisoners’ ablutions are confined to the minimum enjoined by the rules of the establishment. Shower baths are to be seen in all directions. In pleasing contrast to the ever-present massive masonry, I was glad to perceive that every available spot of ground had been utilised for the planting of flowers, and fruit and shade trees, the latter proving a very welcome shelter to the prisoners in their leisure hours.” (The Week, 18 November 1876)
Next in 'Know Your Colonial Prison History' - The first Rockhampton Gaol, 1864-84