Toodyay Gaol
former prison in Western Australia
Toodyay Gaol stood on lot R66, close to the first Convict Hiring Depot, in the original townsite of Toodyay, now known as West Toodyay, in Western Australia. Although generally referred to as a gaol, it was technically a lock-up, holding prisoners only until they were brought before the resident magistrate (after which, if appropriate, they were transferred to Fremantle Prison).
Construction of the new gaol began on 23 December 1851. A number of ticket-of-leave holders were withdrawn from the road parties to carry out this work. Other masons and mechanics were on hand.
The new gaol was built to a standard plan used also at York. The building was of stone with a shingled roof. Due to the lack of a ready source of lime, it was necessary to use clay as a mortar. It was a large building containing twelve solitary cells with floorboards throughout. An extra cell was added for the holding of Aboriginal prisoners.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Toodyay Gaol” is former prison in Western Australia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Toodyay, Gaol and former, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “former prison in Western Australia” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 30, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q38250520. Authority coordinates are -31.523, 116.431. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1851.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Toodyay Gaol”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Toodyay Gaol primary sources, Toodyay Gaol archive and Toodyay research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Toodyay Gaol”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Toodyay 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.