Adelaide Gaol
former prison in Adelaide, South Australia
Adelaide Gaol is a former Australian prison located in the Park Lands of Adelaide, in the state of South Australia. The gaol was the first permanent one in South Australia and operated from 1841 until 1988. The Gaol is one of the two oldest buildings still standing in South Australia, the other being Government House which was built at the same time. The prison is now a museum, tourist attraction and function centre.
Origins
When the first colonists arrived at South Australia in late 1836, any prisoners (there were few at first) were held in irons aboard the ships HMS Buffalo and then Tam O'Shanter. In early 1837 the public were warned that escaped convicts from New South Wales may reach the colony and in mid-1837 Buffalo and Tam O'Shanter sailed away. Recognising the need, tenders had already been called for a "temporary" gaol. Meanwhile, the governor's guard of Royal Marines held prisoners in their encampment in the present Botanic Gardens, chained to a tree.
As the population expanded, a temporary lock-up became necessary, which was built in early 1838 near Government House, Adelaide (then a mere hut) so the marines could guard both prisoners and Governor John Hindmarsh. This was a wooden slab affair, with timber palisade fences, although one room was freestone, which became known as the 'stone jug'.
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This entry incorporates text from “Adelaide Gaol” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.