OLD BUSSELTON GAOL

Explore the gaol cells built in 1861 and imagine being locked up all night behind one of these heavy wooden doors! It was not unusual for someone to spend three to six months locked up here awaiting a traveling Magistrate. Prisoners given longer sentences were sent to Bunbury and Fremantle Prison or Rottnest Island. The cells were all built with limestone block walls. After a number of escapes by busy inmates the Magistrate J Harris requested the cells be lined with Jarrah boards to prevent inmates digging their way to freedom.

The cell at the end of the corridor with the bars, wood-block floor and shackles was built for Aboriginal prisoners. This space provides an opportunity for us to reflect on colonisation practices. Records show that cell 9 was not used post 1940, unfortunately prior records have not been located to date but the search goes on.

The yard at the end of the corridor was used for exercise and toilets. The Exercise Yard is worth a visit just for the toilets! Originally the Exercise Yard had no roof – which led to many escapes - and a wood-block floor. Sadly the wood blocks were removed in the 1980s when the site became an art centre.