HM Prison Pentridge

About

HM Prison Pentridge, better known as Pentridge Prison, was an Australian prison established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first convicts arrived at the gaol in 1851. The facility closed on 1 May 1997, although some of the heritage-listed buildings still stand.

Pentridge was often referred to as the "Bluestone College", "Coburg College" or "College of Knowledge". The grounds were originally landscaped by landscape gardener Hugh Linaker.

The site is split into two parts. The northern part of the prison, referred to as the "Pentridge Coburg" or "Pentridge Piazza" site, is bordered by Champ Street, Pentridge Boulevard, Murray Road and Stockade Avenue. It is under development by the developer Shayher Group, who has owned the site since 2013. The southern part of the prison, referred to as the "Pentridge Village" site, is bordered by Pentridge Boulevard, Stockade Avenue, Wardens Walk and Urquhart Street. It is partially owned by the developer, Future Estate. D Division is owned privately by Pentridge Cellars Pty Ltd.

The prison was split into divisions, named using letters of the alphabet.

- A – Short- and long-term prisoners of good behaviour. During the late 1980s, until its closure it became a scene of many monthly bashings, stabbings and bludgeonings.

- B – Long-term prisoners with behaviour problems

- C – Vagabonds and short-term prisoners, where infamous bushranger Ned Kelly was imprisoned. Demolished in the early 1970s.

- E – The hospital, later turned into a dormitory division housing short-term prisoners

- H – High security, discipline and protection

- J – Young Offenders Group. Later for long-term prisoners with record of good behaviour

- Jika Jika – maximum-security risk and for protection, later renamed K Division

In 2014, archaeological work in the former prison grounds led to the discovery of three rare panopticons (named after the 1791 prison design of British philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham ) located near the A and B Divisions that were built of bluestone in the 1850s. The first uncovered and excavated was to the north of A division. The circular design, with walls coming out from the centre, created wedge shaped 'airing yards' where prisoners would be permitted access for one hour per day without coming into contact with each other. The panopticons fell out of use, due to prison overcrowding, and were largely demolished in the early 1900s. The footings of the first panopticon that was excavated and uncovered is located to the north of A Division and remains relatively intact. The excavation and uncovering of the other two panopticons next to B Division only revealed the remains of its rubble footings.

Jika Jika high-security unit (K Division)

Jika Jika, opened in 1980 at a cost of A$ 7 million, was a 'gaol within a gaol' maximum-security section, designed to house Victoria's hardest and longest-serving prisoners. It was awarded the 'Excellence in Concrete Award' by the Concrete Institute of Australia before being closed, eight years later, amidst controversy after the deaths of five prisoners in 1987.

The design of Jika Jika was based on the idea of six separate units at the end of radiating spines. The unit comprised electronic doors, closed-circuit TV and remote locking, designed to keep staff costs to a minimum and security to a maximum. The furnishings were sparse and prisoners exercised in aviary-like escape-proof yards.

In 1983 four prisoners escaped from 'escape-proof' Jika Jika. When two prison officers were disciplined in relation to the Jika Jika escape, a week-long strike occurred.

In 1987, inmates Robert Wright, Jimmy Loughnan, Arthur Gallagher, David McGauley and Ricky Morris from one side of the unit, and convicted Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue and three other inmates on the other side, sealed off their section doors with a tennis net. Mattresses and other bedding were then stacked against the doors and set on fire. Wright, Loughnan, Gallagher, McGauley and Morris died in the blaze. Minogue and the three others were evacuated and survived.

In 2014, archaeological work in the former prison grounds led to the discovery of three rare panopticons (named after the 1791 prison design of British philosopher and social reformer Jeremy Bentham ) located near the A and B Divisions that were built of bluestone in the 1850s. The first uncovered and excavated was to the north of A division. The circular design, with walls coming out from the centre, created wedge shaped 'airing yards' where prisoners would be permitted access for one hour per day without coming into contact with each other. The panopticons fell out of use, due to prison overcrowding, and were largely demolished in the early 1900s. The footings of the first panopticon that was excavated and uncovered is located to the north of A Division and remains relatively intact. The excavation and uncovering of the other two panopticons next to B Division only revealed the remains of its rubble footings.

Jika Jika, opened in 1980 at a cost of A$ 7 million, was a 'gaol within a gaol' maximum-security section, designed to house Victoria's hardest and longest-serving prisoners. It was awarded the 'Excellence in Concrete Award' by the Concrete Institute of Australia before being closed, eight years later, amidst controversy after the deaths of five prisoners in 1987.

The design of Jika Jika was based on the idea of six separate units at the end of radiating spines. The unit comprised electronic doors, closed-circuit TV and remote locking, designed to keep staff costs to a minimum and security to a maximum. The furnishings were sparse and prisoners exercised in aviary-like escape-proof yards.