As the colony of Queensland continued to expand after the boom of the 1860s, the reach of British law extended further inland. The Maranoa region of the Western Downs was opened for pastoralists and the site of Roma was first surveyed in the early 1860s. By 1866 it was the major administrative centre of the Maranoa and had a police station and a courthouse, so a prison was not long coming.
Built by T Slaughter, the ‘Public Gaol, Prison and House of Correction’ opened in December 1872 on the corner of May and McDowell Streets. It became known locally as ‘Donnelly’s Hotel’, after Peter Donnelly, the first superintendent. The prison initially had capacity for 24 prisoners, with 8 separate cells and the rest confined in a common ward. The 1¼ acre grounds were surrounded by a 4-metre-tall hardwood stockade fence, and the early yards were not graveled but were instead ‘muddy and boggy’.
Built by T Slaughter, the ‘Public Gaol, Prison and House of Correction’ opened in December 1872 on the corner of May and McDowell Streets. It became known locally as ‘Donnelly’s Hotel’, after Peter Donnelly, the first superintendent. The prison initially had capacity for 24 prisoners, with 8 separate cells and the rest confined in a common ward. The 1¼ acre grounds were surrounded by a 4-metre-tall hardwood stockade fence, and the early yards were not graveled but were instead ‘muddy and boggy’.
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| McDowell Street, Roma, 1875. The gaol and courthouse were on the far end of this street. (Australian Town and Country Journal, July 1875) |
The most common crimes in the gaol register were reported to be forgery, false pretences, and cattle or horse theft. Among the inmates held there was the notorious cattle thief Harry Redford. Sadly, as was this case with many other colonial prisons, people with severe mental health issues were also confined in the cells on occasion.
By the 1890s the buildings were decaying and required constant patching up. These were probably the prison’s busiest days thanks to theShearer’s Strike. The prison was expanded with a couple of new cells and another ward to increase the capacity to 38 inmates, both male and female.
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| McDowell Street, Roma, 1875. (Australian Town and Country Journal, July 1875) |
The hard labour regime of the 1890s saw gangs of prisoners in the ‘broad arrow’ clothing on the roads pulling carts to a creek for sand. Local residents protested that the sight not only had a bad influence on children, but it was unnecessary degradation of the prisoners. Hard labour was then switched to woodcutting.
The prison closed in October 1903 and became a police gaol, meaning that only prisoners serving sentences of 30 days or less could be held there. It served in this capacity until 1923, when it was demolished as an ‘eyesore’.
The prison closed in October 1903 and became a police gaol, meaning that only prisoners serving sentences of 30 days or less could be held there. It served in this capacity until 1923, when it was demolished as an ‘eyesore’.