# The Chronicles of Early Melbourne/Volume 1/Chapter 15

CHAPTER XV.
OLD COURT-HOUSES, OLD GAOLS, AND THE PENTRIDGE STOCKADE.
SYNOPSIS:— The Bourke Street Court-house. —The Supreme Court "Rookery." —The Provincial Rhadamanthus. —Latrobe Street Court-house. —Laying the Foundation Stone. —The Procession. —Masonic Prayer. —The Inscription. —Masonic Invocation. —The First Masonic Oration in Public. —Opening of the New Court-house. —The First Gaol. —The First Gaoler. —The Collins Street Prison. —Its First Criminals. —"The Rules" Described." —Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt. —Cessation of "The Rules." —Cost of Melbourne Gaol in 1841. —Increase of Criminals 1840-42. —A "Capital" Compromise. —A Prison Marriage. —The First Treadmill. —A Flight of Gaol-birds. —The Russell Street Prison. —The Treadmill Redivivus. —Poor Rooney's Smash. —The First Runaway Convict. —The Treadmill Described. —Escape of Criminals. —Corporal Punishment. —Discontinuance of Transports to Van Diemen's Land. —Formidable Conspiracies. —The Treadmill in Order. —"Solitary" and the Lash. —Insubordinate Stone-breakers. —"Jack Ketch" under Sentence. —"Piping" to Liberty. —A Subterranean Flight, ab inferno. —An Exciting Chase and Capture. —Wintle's Pluck, Retirement, Pension, and Death. —Pentridge Stockade. —Mr. Samuel Barrow First Superintendent. —A Pentridge Procession. —Early Prison Troubles. —Prison Breaks. —A Convict Shot Dead. —The Lash. —Attempt to Level the Stockade. —Barrow Accidently Drowned. —Mr. John Price his Successor. —Mr. Price Murdered by Convicts.
The Bourke Street Court-House.
AT the South-west corner of King and Bourke Streets there was, in early days, erected a plain-looking, store-like, brick-walled, shingle-covered building, and therein the then small business of the Crown Lands Department (controlled by Commissioners) was disposed of. The entrance at one end faced Bourke Street, and nothing could be less pretentious, less comfortable, or uglier. In the beginning of 1841, when it was known that a branch of the Supreme Court was to be established in the district, the ruling powers were driven to their wits' end as to how, and where, an apartment could be procured for the temporary accommodation of the Resident Judge and his judicial following. After a good deal of casting about, it was finally resolved to convert this place into a legal "make-shift," and the Crown Lands Commissioners, with their troopers and bailiffs, were hurried off to a wattle-and-daub shed, a rearward appurtenance of the Superintendent's establishment on Batman's Hill. So the barn underwent a partial process offittingup; and the single-roomed cottage referred to in a previous chapter as a Clerk of Works' Office behind, was transformed into "Chambers." This "rookery" then became the Supreme Court, and here it was that the wilful and wayward Judge Willis "ruled the roost." No other Judge presided there, for by a curious coincidence, the first Supreme Court, built as such in Port Phillip, was just ready for opening on the arrival of Mr. Justice Jeffcott from Sydney, to whom was accorded the rarely enjoyed privilege of making his debut as a Judge in a maiden Court-house. After the change of venue there was some intention of turning the old place into a Military Barracks, or a Police Station, but it passed into the official occupancy of the Court of Requests, where the polite and punctilious Commissioner Barry, reigned for several years amongst his small-fry officials and motley crowds of petty litigants. It was next consigned to various purposes including that of an Immigration Office, until the time came when it was compelled to disappear altogether, and make way for the premises known as the offices of the Industrial Schools and Penal Establishments.
The Latrobe Street Court-House.
There was a great deal of talk, and no little "blowing," about what a grand thing the projected New Court-house was to be, for there was no question as to the propriety of providing something like an edifice wherein the Rhadamanthus of the Province might dispense that justice which is, theoretically at least, supposed to be an ingredient of the British Constitution. Designs were prepared at the Colonial Architect's office in Sydney though issued nominally under the imprimatur of the Provincial Clerk of Works. Tenders ​were invited in the beginning of 1842. The merits and demerits of half-a-dozen sites were considered, and each place had its adherents. Public opinion was split into half-a-dozen segments, in favour ofthe sites of the present Post Office, the Bank of Australasia, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Town Hall, the Mint, and, singularly too, that whereon the new Law Courts are now erected. A new Gaol had been commenced off the Northern side of Latrobe Street, and as the propriety of placing the new Court-house near the new Gaol obtained a general acquiescence, that course was determined on. As the day approached for the laying of its foundation there was excited expectation, for the good people, mistaken or otherwise, affected to regard it as a day "big with fate," and the feeling was intensified by the preparations being made to give éclat to the occasion. His Honor the Superintendent manifested a warm interest in the event, whilst Judge Willis was in a paroxysm of weak delirium, for to his other failings he added an egregious self-sufficiency, and nothing could convince him that he was not the people's idol. The day was proclaimed a general holiday; there was to be a grand spectacular exhibition through the streets; the stone was to be laid with Masonic honours, and the "Brethren of the Mystic tie," including the Freemasons' and the Oddfellows' Societies, were to march in full regalia. This was the first thing of the kind in Melbourne. Printed programmes were circulated, and the most elaborate precautions taken to avert anything of a hitch occurring. The 22nd July, 1842, was originally fixed for the ceremony, and it rained so incessantly that a postponement to the 25th was unavoidable. Even then appearances were so unpromising that glum were the looks, and bitter the disappointment, when the morning broke frowning and bad-tempered. Anon the rain poured down, but towards noon the face of the heavens expanded with pleasant smiles, and by "high twelve" the sun wore a genial face. From an early hour in the morning preparations were made for witnessing the procession by persons of all degrees, and a universal desire was apparent to have something like a "day of it." The open space in front of the old Court-house was the appointed rendezvous, where the processionists should meet, and complete all the necessary preliminary formalities for the start, and as noon approached streams of people were flowing to this gathering ground from every quarter.
Two hundred Freemasons left their Lodge-room at the Royal Exchange in Collins Street, accompanied by all the paraphernalia of their Order, about half-past eleven, and marched to the Courthouse, where, forming into line, they were followed by the Oddfellows, about sixty in number, decked in aprons, gloves, ribbons, and other insignia peculiar to that Order. Passing through, the Masons formed in front, where the Town Band was stationed, and which struck up a lively air. The children of the various schools in town paraded next in full procession, and after marching and counter-marching, marshalling and re-marshalling, the animated mass moved forward in the following order:—
The Ranger on Horseback, Mounted Police, Melbourne Police, Band, The Schools, Oddfellows; The Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, in the following order:— Tyler, Banner of Faith, Masters of Ceremonies, Terrestrial and Celestial Globes; Entered Apprentices, Fellow Crafts, Six Junior Masters, Deacons with Wands , Secretary with Roll, Treasurer with Bag Six Masters, Deacons, Corinthian Light, Junior Warden, Six Masters, Doric Light, Senior Warden; Banner of Hope, The Lodge (borne by four Masters), Cornucopia, Pitcher with Wine; Pitcher with Oil, Organist and Choir, Stewards, Architect and Builder, Bible, Square, and Compasses; Banner of Charity, Chaplain, Clergy of all Denominations (two and two); Installed Masters, Ionic Light, Book of Constitutions, Royal Arch, Knights Templars; The Past Master, Worshipful Master, Inner Guard, Civil Officers of Government, Chief-Constable on Horseback; Magistrates of the Colony (two and two); Civil Officers of the Government Heads of Departments (two and two), Tipstaff of the Court; Members ofthe Bar, Police Magistrate and Staff; The Resident Judge, supported by the Officers of his Court, followed by the Members of the Legal Profession— The Attornies—(two and two), Inhabitants.
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reached from William to Elizabeth Streets, and, as it passed, Collins Street was " blocked " by a moving mass of some five thousand persons. O n arriving at its destination, there was considerable confusion and difficulty in clearing sufficient space to admit those w h o were to take part in the ceremony. After m u c h crushing and knocking about, the officiating individuals succeeded in obtaining places near the stone, and the proceedings were c o m m e n c e d by the Rev. A. C. Thomson, the Episcopalian Minister and Masonic Chaplain, offering aloud the following PRAYER :— " O Thou ! at whose fiat the universe arose arranged in order, and clothed in beauty : Thou who hast reared the whole frame of Nature as a vast temple in which to celebrate T h y praise, and manifest T h y power, truth, and abundant goodness, vouchsafe to look upon us and bless us in this undertaking. D o Thou, O Most High, w h o hast laid the foundations of the world, and erected the pillars of the same, W h o sittest upon the circle of the earth, W h o hath stretched out the heavens as a curtain, and garnished them with light, and has spread them out as a tent to dwell in, n o w deign to be with us assembled under T h y protection to lay the foundation of a Temple in which Justice and Equity are to be administered in T h y holy fear. " M a y T h y blessing abundantly rest upon us this day in laying the foundation, and during the progress of the work even to completion. Defend from all accident and harm those engaged in the work, prosper them in their labours, and let harmony, peace, and brotherly love prevail amongst them. " M a y all w h o are appointed to preside and administer the law within its walls have ever a sacred regard to that eternal rectitude and immutable truth with which T h o u dost direct and govern all things. M a y they ever be under T h y guidance and fear, remembering Thee, the Great Judge of all. M a y every judge and every juror w h o is called to perform his functions in the precincts of this Court, whose foundation is this day to be laid, be penetrated with a deep sense of his sacred duty to do justly, love mercy, and reverently regard Thee, the Supreme. Let incorrupt and inviolate truth ever be spoken by those w h o are here to bear witness, that so truth and justice m a yflourishamongst us, and violence, fraud, and wrong be restrained and kept far from our dwellings and our borders. M a y right ever be upheld and wrong and injustice ever be suppressed and punished in this Temple of Justice. These blessings do T h o u vouchsafe to grant unto us and, our children, for the sake of H i m w h o m T h o u hearest always, to the advancement of our prosperity and welfare, and the glory of T h y great name." Response by the Masonic B o d y — " So Mote it be." A n anthem, composed for the occasion, was next sung, the school children joining in, and it is recorded "that the melody of their voices greatly contributed to increase the solemnity of the occasion." T h e Resident Judge then handed to the Masonic Treasurer a bottle containing some current coins of the realm, and a slip of parchment thus engrossed :— T H E FOUNDATION STONE Ofthe • C O U R T H O U S E O F AUSTRALIA FELIX, Laid this day, Monday, 25th July, 1842, In the Sixth Year of the Reign of H E R MAJESTY Q U E E N VICTORIA. HIS EXCELLENCY SIR G E O R G E GIPPS, Governor of New South Wales ; His H O N O R C. J. LATROBE, First Superintendent; and His H O N O R J O H N WALI-OLE WILLIS, First Resident Judge of this Territory ; J A M E S R A T T E N B U R Y , Architect ; G E O R G E BEAVER, Builder.
The bottle was fixed in an excavation in the under-stone, after which some hot lead was poured into the orifice over which the mortar was placed, and the Judge, with a silver trowel, smoothed it over. T h e too stone having been lowered, the plummet was handed by the Masonic J.W. to the P.M., and by him to the Worshipful Master, w h o applied it to the stone to ascertain its perfect adjustment. T h e S.W. then handed the level to the P.M., w h o performed the like operation, and gave the square and maul to the ​Judge, who thrice knocked on the stone. The treble knocking was repeated by the W.M, after which the Chaplain pronounced the following invocation :—" M a y the Great Architect of the Universe enable this work to be carried on successfully to its completion, and watch over and protect the Temple of Justice, so that the administration of its sacred rules may tend to the good of the people and to the glory of His holy name."—P.M., " S o Mote it be." Three loud cheers were asked for by the Masonic Master, and enthusiastically given. T h e cornucopia was next handed to the W . M , w h o strewed corn over the stone, and, in like manner, silver vases, containing the wine and the oil, were passed, and the contents poured over the corn. T h e Chaplain followed with a final invocation :—" M a y the bountiful hand of heaven ever supply this province with abundance of corn, wine, and oil, and all the necessaries of life; m a y H e , whose mighty hand encompasses Eternity be the Grand Protector over this infant city and its inhabitants, and m a y H e long preserve this building from peril and decay."—P.M., " S o Mote it be." Mr. P.M. John Stephen then delivered the following MASONIC ORATION,
The first public utterance of the kind in the colony :— " M a y it please your H o n o r , — T h e station which I have the honor to occupy amongst the Fraternity of Masons confers upon m e the distinguished privilege of acknowledging the compliment paid to our Order, in calling upon the members of the Lodge of Australia Felix, to assist in laying the Foundation Stone of this important building. It being one of the principles of our Craft to uphold the administration of Justice, w e cannot but contemplate the complete establishment of Courts of Equity and Law, with sentiments of the highest satisfaction, as tending to cement that mutual confidence in a community which is essential to the promotion of the general interests of society. U p o n such an occasion as the present, it may be expected that the novelty of the scene should induce some explanation as to the concession of the honour which has been enjoyed by the Masonic Body, and perhaps it might be presumed that some of the secrets of the Craft would leak out during this ceremony. I will, therefore, so far gratify public curiosity as to communicate some form of the leading characteristics of Freemasonry. T h e Banner of our Institution rests upon the principle of doing unto others as w e would wish them to do unto us. Our superstructure is supported on the columns of Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice; whilst o'er the summit of our edifice float the Banners of Faith, Hope, and Charity. At the same time, lest it m a y be supposed that the various insignia borne in our procession are destitute of any real utility, I will endeavour briefly to explain the purposes to which are applied the few which are at present within m y reach." T h e speaker then taking the Chisel, the Rule, and the Maul, gave an exposition of their practical and theoretical application, concluding by again thanking His Honor for the compliment paid to the Craft, and requesting the favour of the Judge's company at a banquet, to meet the Friaternity. The Resident Judge expressed his thanks and satisfaction at the readiness with which the Free and Accepted Masons of the Lodge of Australia Felix had responded to the call on their services, in assisting to lay the foundation stone of thefirstTemple of Justice to be erected in this district. H e complimented the body generally, and said he was highly pleased at the able exposition of their principles which had been given by Mr. Stephen. H e alluded to the importance of the structure, the foundation of which had just then been laid, declaring it to be second only to a religious edifice. H e descanted at some length on its value as a Temple in which Justice was to be dealt out impartially in spite of " the strife of tongues," and in the due administration of which every m e m b e r ofthe community was deeply interested. H e expressed his own determination firmly to uphold Truth and Justice, and to maintain inviolate the sanctity of the objects for which the building was to be erected. A community taking Justice as its pilot, and Religion as its polestar, could not do otherwise than advance steadily in prosperity and social happiness ; and his hearty wish was that Australia Felix might prosper in everything which promoted her best interests. In all probability before the walls of the future building were grey with age, he would long have left them; but in whatever position he might be placed, his warmest wishes and best exertions would ever attend the colony, which, if left to its own resources, and own self-government, would rapidly rise in prosperity, and be the first province of the Crown in this hemisphere. His Honor concluded by expressing his regret that, for various reasons, he could not do himself the pleasure of dining with the Masons in the evening. ​Judge Willis little dreamed, at the time he was orating, that before the Court-house was opened, he should be recalled from the Bench. " G o d save the Q u e e n " was then chanted, during which a charitable collection was m a d e by two of the Masonic brethren. T h e order of procession was reversed, and, headed by Judge Willis and the Worshipful Master, returned to the Old Court-house. A large proportion of ladies participated in the day's ovation, and the verdict unanimously returned was that the ceremonial had passed off in a manner most gratifying and creditable to all concerned. In the evening the Masonic body, and a number of gentlemen not belonging to the Craft, dined together at the Royal Exchange Hotel, Collins Street, where everything went off in the happiest manner. T h e Oddfellows had a banquet of their o w n at the Crown Lnn, Lonsdale Street, where sociality and good fellowship characterised the proceedings. M y reason for giving such a lengthy notice of this ceremonial is because of its being the first of the kind in the colony, and thefirstof those public displays in which the Associated Societies of Melbourne, in after years, so distinguished themselves. The New Court-house when finished asserted some pretension to architectural taste. In less than a year it was completed, and opened for the first time on the 15th July, 1843, when Judge Jeffcott presided on the first occasion of his judicial appearance in Melbourne. This " Court-house of Australia Felix," whose birthday was signalized with all the pomp and circumstance detailed, is the old weather-beaten stone building n o w in its turn, on the eve of being cashiered. Probably ere long it will have disappeared from off the earth as completely as its humble predecessor; yet it has done good work in its day, and it had the inestimable advantage of a race of Judges of whom, without a single exception, Victoria m a y well feel proud. Since the introduction of the Supreme Court as an Institution more than a dozen Judges have officiated in the (now) Old Court-house. It will be fortunate for the new Law Courts if they should be as well benched, for, taken as a whole, no future dozen Judges will prove a better selection. M a n y a thrilling drama of real life has been witnessed in the old building of which I a m n o w writing, and with all the terrrible tragedies, and some of the comedies, presented on its boards in the early time, I hope to m a k e m y readers acquainted before I bid them farewell. THE FIRST GAOL. The identity of the first regular prison for malefactors in Melbourne is difficult to ascertain, in consequence of the haze which theflightof even only little more than forty years has left in its wake, and the silence of the old chroniclers, or what is worse, the inaccuracy of one or two writers on the subject. O f the few m e n still surviving w h o were contemporaries ofthefirst"Bridewell"—men w h o must have often seen and passed by the place hundreds of times—I can only find two w h o have a recollection of such a place of personal restraint, and even these differ upon two essentials, respecting which a person would think there ought to be no possibility of disagreement, viz, the precise spot on which it stood, and the materials of which it was constructed. After as thorough an exploration of the musty old difficulty as it was possible to effect, and with means which would not be available if the task were m u c h longer deferred, the conclusions which I have arrived at, based upon positive and circumstantial evidence, will be found embodied in the following relation :— F r o m 1835 to 1839, there was but little occasion for a prison, as crime was in direct proportion to the population, and after the arrival ofthefirstPolice Magistrate in 1836, when a prisoner was committed for felony, as there was no competent Court to try the case in Melbourne, it was necessary to forward him to Sydney, to be there dealt with. Even such instances were rare, and in ordinary matters of theft, as the perpetrators were mostly of the convict class, they could be served out in another way, and flogged for some breach of penal discipline, which answered the purpose. W h e n a person was arrested upon a serious charge he was detained, pending a preliminary examination, in the slab-huts, used as watch-houses, before described. Lock-up and gaol were in those times convertible terms, and no distinction seems to have been drawn between them. In the beginning of 1838, a notorious murderer n a m e d Commerford, afterwards hanged in Sydney, was secured in thefirstlock-up near Captain Lonsdale's original Police-court cabin. This was an insecure place ​in which to hold such a daring criminal; but as it was one-half of the guard-house where three or four armed soldiers were on perpetual duty, escape was rendered so risky that even the murderer did not dare to try it. T h e brick building, used as a temporary Supreme Court, was occasionally turned into a prison, and once, in the early part of 1839, the mounted police being in quest of some aboriginal sheep-stealers, captured half-a-dozen black w o m e n and brought them to Melbourne, in the hope that the m e n w h o had fled to the bush would be induced to return to the outskirts of the town through anxiety for their wives and daughters, and be an easy conquest. These w o m e n were locked into this " tumble-down," where it was thought they were quite secure, and no watch was kept. T h e next morning, however, the place was found empty, as during the night the dark ladies removed some of the bricks in the end wall—got through and rejoined their companions of the wilderness. T o M r . E. T. Newton, w h o for some time was business manager for M r . John Batman, I a m indebted for the following information (obtained from a gentleman at Alberton) relative to thefirstgaol :— " M y belief as to the site of the gaol is, that it was on the rising ground, a short distance from the back of Batman's house, in a Northerly direction where ' Tulip Wright' resided; and that it was burnt down whilst I was away from Melbourne in Launceston and Hobartown, purchasing supplies for the Government contracts, which in those days Batman had the supplying of, and to the best of m y recollection it was a slab building." T h e "Tulip Wright" named was the well-known Chief-Constable to w h o m reference has been already made, and the facts of this worthy being "hutted" in immediate propinquity, and the destruction of the place byfire,led m e to believe that the writer's m e m o r y must have erred so far as to cause him to associate the gaol with thefirstwatch-house more that once indicated. About the middle of 1838, there was a regular (thefirst)gaol built on a portion of the half-acre allotment at the corner of William and Flinders Streets. This was purchased by Batman at an early land sale for ,£75, and upon it, some distance in from the streets, rearward of the n o w Sydney Hotel, was erected a small brick building, said to be a store, but more like a stable with a hay-loft overhead. T h e entrance was end-ways from Flinders Street, and access was had to the second story by means of a step-ladder. It was engaged by the Police Magistrate for a gaol, and a high ti-tree paling or stockade was put u p all round; a couple of huts added as gaoler's residence and guard-room, and then the place was pronounced to be " fit for duty." Mr. Robert Russell has supplied m e with a copy of a waif found by him buried amongst some old papers remaining since he held the office of Clerk of Works. It is a rent account furnished by Batman, and here is a transcript :— " H . M . Government. Dr. to Jno. Batman. For one Quarter's Rent of Gaol—Quarter ending September 30, 1838, at 203. per week, .£12." "Received from the Chief Police Magistrate at Melbourne the sum of £12, as per annexed account."
T w o curious and almost incredible facts are disclosed by this scrap of M.S., viz, that only four-and forty years ago, the Government of Port Phillip had to resort to hired premises for a prison, and the rent for the same was just twenty shillings a week. There were always a couple of military sentries as an outer guard with loaded guns, on the watch and ready for action at any hour of day or night; and the fear of being shot down in attempting to escape contributed m u c h more than the wooden palisading to keep the prisoners in safe custody. Though small the stable-building, it was so arranged that if not admitting of a classification of prisoners, it provided for the separation of the sexes, for the m e n were located on the ground, and the w o m e n in the upper compartment. T h e ladies occasionally so exalted, used to take it into their heads to look down upon the " lords of creation " immured under their feet, and as the ceiling or flooring boards between the upper and lower regions had either shrunk or were loosely jointed, through the interstices the female prisoners had frequent opportunities of causing annoyance to their fellows below. Once the wife of a well-to-do painter was incarcerated there for threatening the life of her husband, and she organised a m o d e of onslaught upon the prisoners, of w h o m she had so m u c h the upper hand, that the m e n rose in rebellion in the basement, bellowing and swearing that Samson-like they would pull down the whole concern, even were they to perish in the ruins. T h e gaoler rushed in to check the emeute, the guard was ​summoned at " full cock and fixed bayonets," and it was only by the most vociferous threats of a flogging and a week's spell day and night in the stocks, that Mrs. S was coerced,firstinto an armistice, and then into a promise of future good conduct. This old prison afterwards formed portion of the business premises of Messrs. Ashurst and Co., whose counting-house was for years at the junction of William and Flinders Streets, which was long known as "Ashurst Corner." Their store extended backwards, and the gaol building as an old outhouse continued for a time to be used as a place for the deposit of lumber. It was known as the Old Prison, and racy were some ofthe stories detailed concerning it. In January, 1838, there came from Sydney with the appointment of gaoler, a m a n possessed of special fitness for the post—assuredly the " right m a n in the right place." This was Mr. George Wintle, so well known for a series of years in Melbourne. Arriving in Sydney in 1836, he was nominated Superintendent of Hulks there, whence he was transferred to Melbourne. H e was a good disciplinarian, punctual, patient, and persevering, and it was only the continued exercise of such qualities that enabled him to cope effectually with the hazardous responsibility assumed by him. A s the keeper of three gaols in Melbourne, he passed successfully through ordeals undreamed of in the Colonial prisons of to-day, and was superannuated a few years ago, after a lengthened career of usefulness not exceeded in Victoria. In 1839, convicts transported from the Quarter Sessions were retained in the Melbourne gaol until forwarded to Sydney to serve their sentences, but it was always arranged that a brig or schooner was ready to start with them a day or two after the close of each sitting. These "dens" were sometimes so crammed as to resemble the famous " Black Hole " of Calcutta, but the life was always tough in the Port Phillip prisoners, so that, though the " scrooging" in the early gaols often approached, it never went so far as, actual smothering. In April, 1839, there were fifty prisoners " d o n e " almost to death in one of these kennels, which so stirred the insensibility of the sleeping powers in Sydney, that a new gaol was sanctioned, and tenders were called for its erection. A site for the new gaol was chosen in Collins Street West, a short distance from King Street, on the North side, where the extensive wholesale stationery warehouse of Sands and M'Dougall m a y be n o w seen. T h e plan and specification of the structure, though prepared in the office of the Colonial Architect in Sydney, reflected but small credit upon the professional ability of that establishment. It was a brick-built, shinglecovered, rough-and-tumble sort of an affair, subdivided into three apartments, with two small cells for solitary confinement; and such an annexe as a surrounding wall was not even thought necessary. T w o huts in the vicinity served for a military guard-room and quarters for the keeper. It was opened for the reception of prisoners early in 1840, and on the last day ofthe preceding year the number on the books was—awaiting trial for murder 2, other felonies 9, assault and rescue 4, with 11 aboriginals detained for various minor offences. W h e n the Supreme Court was introduced in April, 1841, provision was necessary for persons imprisoned for debt. T o cram them into what would soon be too small for its quota of criminals was not to be thought of; but Judge Willis obviated the difficulty by proclaiming a certain area of the town, wherein debtors might remain at large, upon entering into specified recognizances not to leave until duly released. If these " Rules-men " bolted, the bail-bonds would be estreated. "THE RULES."
It may not be uninteresting, at this distant period, to reproduce this Order of the Court- the first and only one of the kind ever m a d e in Victoria :— " T h e Rules of the Debtor's Prison in Melbourne shall be comprised within the bounds following, that is to say, all that part of Collins Street which lies between Spencer Street and the North-East side of William Street, so much of William Street as lies between Collins Street and the North-West side of Little Collins Street, so m u c h of Little Collins Street as lies between William Street and the North-East side of Queen Street, so much of Queen Street as lies between Little Collins Street and the North-West side of Lonsdale Street, so much of Lonsdale Street as lies between Queen Street and the SouthW e s t side of Spencer Street, and that part of Spencer Street which lies between Lonsdale Street and the South-East side of Collins Street, together with the area comprised within, and bounded by the portions of streets aforesaid ; and all houses (except as hereinatter is excepted) on each side thereof—Provided that all taverns, victualling houses, ale houses, or houses licensed to sell spirituous liquors, houses of public entertainment, and also all disorderly houses, and houses of ill-fame shall be excluded out of, and form no part of the said Rules." ​T h e phraseology of this notification is so involved as to render it difficult, without a town plan to trace the circuit. T h e boundaries frequently underwent alterations to square with the Judge's whims, or to meet the convenience or inconvenience of debtors, according to his erratic gusts of good or bad humour, and when once a prisoner was relegated to " T h e Rules," especially if the debtor were a person in a good position, the Judge would be in a state of constant fidgetiness as to the comfort, or discomfort, of the individual so out "under bond." W h e n Mr. J. B. W e r e was committed for contempt, as described in a previous chapter, after passing a night in gaol, he was permitted the privilege of " T h e Rules." Next day he moved into a comfortable house, and m a d e matters almost as enjoyable as if at h o m e . H e even ventured to indulge in a circumscribed canter on horseback, and one day Willis meeting him whilst in the enjoyment of equestrian exercise, was so horrified at what seemed to his jaundiced eyes an offence almost equivalent to a further contempt of Court that, returning to his chambers, he sent for the Sheriff, and commissioned him to warn W e r e that sojourners in " T h e Rules " were supposed to exercise only on their o w n legs, and if he met him again riding about, his conditional enlargement would be cancelled. M r . W e r e laughed; mentallywished the Judge in even a warmer climate than Melbourne on a hot-wind day, and paid no attention to the threat. Willis' thickening troubles intervened, or otherwise W e r e and his " prad " would have had to dissolve partnership. " T h e Rules" remained substantially the same until the 31st March, 1844, a day of immense jubilation to the defaulting fraternity, as, by an Act of the Legislative Council of N e w South Wales, imprisonment for debt was then abolished, unless under very exceptional and fraudulent circumstances. It is amusing and instructive to "mark the difference in the prison expenditure of the district now, and little more than forty years ago, when the Melbourne Gaol was the only place of the kind, and was thus provided for on the N e w South Wales Estimates for 1841 :—Gaoler, ^£120; Three Turnkeys 3s. 3d. each per diem, ,£177 18s. 9d. ; O n e Clerk, 3s. 6d, .£63 17s. 6d.; Rations for Prisoners confined in Gaol, ;£6oo; Clothing, .£80; Stationery and Printing, ,£20; Utensils and Incidental Expenses, ,£130. Total, ,£1191 16s. 3d. Towards the close of 1840, the prisoners increased to seventy, and soon after, the gaol was so inconveniently crowded, that, in hot weather, a number of the prisoners used to be let out for an airing in the street with a cordon of soldiers, ready to shoot any fellow disposed to run away. In March, 1842, the place was so thronged that the inmates had hardly room to lie down, and Wintle besought the help of the Police Magistrate, w h o pressed the matter on the Superintendent, and it was decided to release twenty-five ofthe best conducted prisoners. In 1840 a second lock-up had been erected at the south-east corner of the Eastern Market Reserve; and this being n o w walled in, some of the prisoners were removed thither, which eased the gaol proper. Further, the time had n o w arrived w h e n no longer delay could be allowed as to its enclosure, and a brick wall was built all round, except at the point which abutted on the street. In July, 1841, a curious compromise of a capital felony happened. T h o m a s Regan was committed to take his trial on a charge of rape, and whilst in gaol, he proposed to escape one noose, by putting his neck in another; or in plain words, if let off, to marry the prosecutrix, an arrangement to which she readily consented. T h e authorities were appealed to, and as there were strong doubts about a conviction, they were not indisposed to ratify the treaty, on due performance of the marriage contract. But a laughable and unexpected impediment intervened, through the Rev. Father Geoghegan refusing to tie the nuptial knot until the prisoner was released from custody, as he could not be validly married under duresse. T o this the law adviser demurred, as Regan, on being emancipated, might decamp minus his promised bride. Further negotiations ended in a bargain, the prisoner being allowed out in the street under a guard, with instructions to "pot" him as dead as a ducat if he tried the trick k n o w n as leg-bail. Here, in the midst of a merrycrowd w h o flocked to see the fun—prompted by the same curiosity that gathers modern old and young ladies to St. Peter's or St. Patrick's where more fashionable marriages are h e l d — a n d with military honours, the fellow's new fetters were securely rivetted by the ecclesiastical blacksmith, and the happy pair were soldered together as "bone of one bone and flesh of one flesh." A Melbourne newspaper describes the bridegroom as a "tolerably good-looking chap," and the "fair" one as " a giantess of six feet in height, one-eyed, with a large area of chin on which flourished a stiff, hard beard." If this portraiture be anything ​approaching correctness, the change of halters must be something like a descent "from the frying-pan into thefire" with a vengeance. THE FIRST TREADMILL.
To provide salutary muscular exercise for the rogues and vagabonds already "putting in an appearance," it had been resolved to procure the addendum of a treadmill at the cost of ,£280. T h e "milling" apparatus was to perform no other function than simply revolve—no other grinding than perspiration out of its patrons on a w a r m day, to be propelled by no other motive power than the instep-oil of the rascals w h o footed the everlasting staircase, and it was anything but a " merry-go-round " for those w h o peripherised in this horizontal step-dance. It was to be constructed on a scheme capable of accommodating sixteen persons, i.e., a trotting team of ten, and a relief squad of six awaiting their turn for a " mill." After the average circumlocution, the gyrating machine was completed, but it soon began to disappoint the reformatory anticipations indulged in. Like a bad clock it would not keep time, and its motions, w h e n it did take it into its head to go, were of a very erratic character. At all events, it was always getting out of order, and never gave satisfaction. Its opening day was, not inappropriately, the 1st April, 1842, and after a few weeks' working the concern broke d o w n with a grand smash, under the prancing pedestrianism of ten lubberly scamps, and to the unmitigated delight of all the rascaldom in the country. There was no mechanical talent in Melbourne able to rehabilitate it, and it was consigned to a lumber store, where it remained in limbo for some years, when its material was utilised in another similar experiment in another place. S o m e idea ofthe internal state of the prison towards the close of 1842, will be gathered from the following extract, copied from a Melbourne newspaper of the 1st N o v e m b e r : — " T H E GAOL.—A correspondent w h o signs himself ' A (Late) Debtor,' has sent us a long letter containing information relative to some of the interior arrangements of the gaol, which, if our correspondent is to be believed, require alteration. H e says there are three turnkeys employed in the establishment, one free and two bond, one of the latter being the m a n w h o hanged the blacks for the murder of the whites at Western Port—the second being the present hangman. These m e n , w e are told, do not know h o w to occupy their time, ' for when they are not larking with the w o m e n and using most disgusting language, they are amusing themselves playing marbles.' O u r correspondent complains, and with justice, that these m e n ' are allowed to have control over free m e n and debtors,' and adduces an instance of its impropriety, in the case of a decent female, 'who went to the gaol a few days since to see her husband, w h o had been confined for debt. T h e female was searched very minutely by one of these ruffians to ascertain if she had any spirits or tobaccoShe mentioned the circumstance to her husband, and on being informed it was " Jack Ketch" w h o had searched her, she fainted, and continued in a fit for some time afterwards.' Our correspondent concludes by expressing his surprise that there should n o w be three turnkeys employed at the gaol, when about five months ago there were nearly double the number of prisoners, and but one turnkey." A FLIGHT OF GAOL BIRDS.
Early on the morning of Sunday, 5th March, 1843, there occurred a serious break prison, in which four notorious convicts m a d e a successful exeunt. 'Phis was accomplished by the removal of some bricks from the wall, and through the opening so m a d e they passed into the yard, where they were joined, as a confederate, by a soldier-sentry. This fellow unlocked a door which let them into liberty, andflinginghis musket and accoutrements into a refuse pit, he accompanied them in their flight. T h e bolters were named William Duncan, and James M'Guire, burglars, under sentence of transportation for life; William M'Donald, burglary,fifteenyears, and William Rafter, cattle stealing, fourteen years; the soldier's n a m e was William Beacroft. T h e corporal's guard coming round to relieve about an hour after, discovered that certain gaol birds had flown, and raising an alarm, a hasty but fruitless pursuit was organised. T h e fugitives "-ot away towards Geelong, and off to the then "far west," where they "bushranged" and pillaged in a promiscuous style. Intelligence of several daring outrages, supposed to have been perpetrated by them, reached Melbourne in due course, but none of the runaways were ever re-captured.
T w o h u m a n skeletons ​were afterwards found in the bush, and supposed to be the remains of a couple of the villains, murdered by the others. The soldier and the remaining survivors were reported to have got on to the “Glenelg,” and crossed the border into South Australia, but it was never satisfactorily confirmed.
On the night of the sth May, 1844, a daring but unsuccessful attempt to break prison was made, but eventuated in a spoiled trick, Four desperadoes fabricated an excavating implement by tearing the handle off a night-tub, and fastening it to a broom-stick. Some of the flooring-boards in the ward were removed, when the door suddenly opened, and revealed the forms of the gaoler and the guard. The burrowers were dumbfounded, and as soon as some of them recovered their gift of the gab, they poured out a volley of abusive obscenity and defiance, but Wintle’s stern look, and the fixed bayonets of his companions now brought to the “charge,” quickly caused the reprobates to knock under, and they were secured and heayily ironed. Their names were, George Abbot, waiting trial for murder; Terence O’Neal and George Bryan, “Jifers,” the first for forgery, and the other, shooting with intent; and George Philip Loyd, a “seven yearer,” for horsestealing. There were fifteen other prisoners herded in the same cell, who took no part in the outrage. They remained in bed, and seemingly enjoying the little night-scene enacted on the boards before them. A turnkey on watch, hearing some mysterious muffled noises, aroused the gaoler, who had the guard turned out, with the coolness and promptitude so characteristic of him, and thus was the meditated escape frustrated.
So this gaol continued until the beginning of 1845 (when the prisoners were transferred to the new gaol in Russell Street), and notwithstanding all its drawbacks, it did duty much better than could have been expected, especially when the desperate character of some of the persons incarcerated there is considered. It is remarkable, that during the five years it served as a prison, no death occurred there, a fact which ought, in a large degree, to be placed to the credit of the Colonial Surgeon, Dr. Cussen. When what got to be known as the Old Gaol, was vacated, efforts were made to obtain it as a District Police Court, to which the Government would not agree. So it was ultimately turned into a barracks for the military detachment then serving in Melbourne.
THE RusSELL STREET PRISON.
The brick gaol in Collins Street was not long in use before its utter inadequacy to meet the ordinary prison requirements of the district, became so manifest as to force a conviction on the Executive Government, that it should be replaced by a more substantial and commodious structure. Two thousand pounds had been yoted by the Legislature towards the erection of a suitable building; but the public purse-strings had to be opened to more than ten times that amount, before the object in view was attained. After much wavering and incertitude a slice of the then verdant plateau away to the north of the town was selected ; and this is the section of land whereon the Metropolitan prison now stands. It was then a nice afternoon stroll from the inhabited portions of the township, amongst the luxuriant gum and she-oak trees beyond (now) Carlton, spread out as in some grand old park. No one outside a Lunatic Asylum would then think of going into business beyond Lonsdale Street, which was the point of demarcation between town and country ; and, except the residents of three or four weather-board cottages, planted at far intervals between Fitzroy and Flemington, no human being had an abiding-place there. Here it was that the new prison-house was to be built, and it may be now seen in the old weather-browned southern wing next the Court-house. It was commenced in 1841, and arranged to be out of the contractor’s hands in eighteen months. It was to be a strong stone structure, but the design after which it was modelled, was, as in the case of its predecessor, muddled to a degree. It will scarcely be credited that the draughtsman; unbenefited by previous experience, never thought of such an appanage as an outer wall until after the main building was finished.
However, up it went, raising itself by degrees like a gaunt spectre, until it overlooked the town, and very much as a spectacular eye-sore did the Melbournians then regard it. Not only that, but its size so alarmed the people, that they half fancied the absentee Government of New South Wales had some sinister purpose in hand, and was bent on erecting an immense place of confinement, into which every man, woman, and child might possibly be impounded some day, like a mob of cattle. It was not only the ​unlettered and ignorant plebs that harboured such absurd delusions respecting the new gaol, because a scare, little less exaggerated, dazed the judgment of some of the best-informed and coolest thinkers in the community. For instance, when, in 1844, as the building was nearly finished, a large public meeting was held in the open-air, on a part of the now Public Library Reserve, to remonstrate against the delayed separation of Port Phillip, Sir James (then Dr.) Palmer, one of the speakers, arraigned the Sydney Government for the manner in which the district had been treated, and one of the counts in his indictment was the erection of so large a gaol. Turning round, and pointing to the louring pile, he exclaimed : " Look at that enormous gaol, and say, if it is not a libel on this colony." Mr. Edward Curr, the most cautious and calculating public man of his time, another of the orators, improved the occasion, by enlarging and emphasizing the Palmerian notion in the following vehement language:—"Look next at the gaol, that hideous mass of deformity which stands so conspicuous before you, and which Dr. Palmer has so correctly designated as a libel on our colony. It has cost you ,£25,000 1 And why and wherefore was the monster, huge as it is hideous, erected ? I will tell you. Your rulers dwell in a convict colony where it is calculated that a number of persons equal to the whole number of the inhabitants are passed through the gaols once every three years. This explains their ideas in erecting here the libellous monster." Dr. Palmer lived to witness the great changes wrought by time in the penal organisation of the colony, and if the shade of Edward Curr, who died nearly forty years ago, could revisit " the glimpses of the moon," it would behold how, what was once denounced as a standing menace to the town, has dwarfed into tarnished insignificance compared with the massive pile of prison buildings which has since grown up beside it. After the gaol wasfinishedit was found that a wall could not be dispensed with, and a contract was accepted for one twenty feet high, two feet thick, and with piers of three feet each, of the like stone as the building, and to be done in four months, for .£800. The concern was opened "for the transaction of business" on the 1st January, 1845, when there were transferred to itfifty-ninemale and nine female prisoners, detained for offences graduating from murder to lunacy, if the latter could be deemed an offence. N o attempt at classification could be tried, nor were there any separate divisions for keeping the sexes apart. All the gaoler could do to remedy such shameful blundering was to shut up the males in one quarter and the females in another, each section being permitted to exercise in the yard by rotation. And there was only one yard extending along the northern side, the length of the building, and thirty feet in width. At the end facing Russell Street the entrance was by means of a large heavy wooden gate. It would be difficult even to imagine anything more inconveniently or imperfectly arranged than this so-called twenty-five thousand pounder leviathan and its belongings. THE TREADMILL REDIVIVUS.
The treadmill, as a reformatory engine, was not lost sight of, and the new gaol was not considered complete without such a refresher, which was to be put up in a yard walled off from the main one, at its western end. Tenders were called for its erection, a Mr. Daniel Rooney was declared to be the successful contractor, and the 1st June, 1845, beheld the commencement of the great undertaking; but it was not opened for exercise until the 1st March, 1846, when wonderful results were expected under the engineering of one Robert M'Cord, a turnkey, who was promoted for his supposed aptitude, to the exciting, though rather monotonous dignity of Master of the Mill. The second circumrotary machine was not much of an improvement on thefirst,and, from something or other going wrong with it internally, there were frequent break-downs. It used to be also thrown out of work through its constructor, or the specification anticipating more employment for it than it obtained. It was made to circumgyrate only under the weight offifteenaverage adults, and, as it frequently happened, that there were not this number of prisoners under sentence of hard labour at a time, the "mill" would stand still. One day M'Cord tested all his ingenuity to work it with eleven men, but it was no go, and as there was no known method of dummying it, the experiment was abandoned. Then poor Rooney, the contractor, who fondly dreamt of making a fortune out of the job, went to smash. H e notoriously either scamped or botched his work, for which he was to receive between ,£600 and £700, and Rattenbury, the Clerk of Works, refused to certify any payments. Rooney was, in consequence, landed in the Insolvent Court, and it was. a toss up as to which was in the more dilapidated condition—the man or his machine. ​The gaol staff was slightly strengthened, and a Visiting Magistrate and two Chaplains were put on its estimates, which, on the ist January, 1847, were thus particularised:—Gaoler, Mr. George Wintle, per annum, ,£150 ; Visiting Magistrate, Mr. James Smith, per annum, , £ 4 0 ; Church of England Chaplain, Rev. A. C. Thomson, per annum, ^£25 ; R o m a n Catholic Chaplain, Rev. J. J. Therry, per annum, ,£25 ; Medical Attendant, Dr. Cussen, per annum, £&o ; Clerk, M r . D. M'Tavish, per annum, ^£84; Superintendent of Treadmill, R. M'Cord, 3s. 6d. per diem ; Turnkeys, 4, each 3s. 6d. per diem. There was a foundry at this time in Melbourne, and its proprietor (Mr. Fulton), anxious for the condition of the treadmill, took it in hand, and for ^£120 covenanted to put it to rights—no cure, no pay. His doctoring was pronounced to be very satisfactory, for the "stepper" was once morefitfor pedestrian recreation, and warranted to travel at the rate offiftypaces per minute—a degree of speed far from relished by the most jiggishly disposed of those for whose behoof the expensive "constitutional' was prepared. A LUNATIC DIFFICULTY.
There was another use to which the prison was necessarily put, which must have increased the troubles and responsibilities of the gaoler in a large degree. There was no distinct place for the detention of lunatics, and as those remanded from the police courts had to be put somewhere, to gaol they had to go. In the beginning of 1847, there werefifteenof such miserable creatures (men and w o m e n ) on the gaoler's hands, without any special means for insuring their safe custody, or keeping them apart from the other prisoners of both sexes. Still it is wonderful h o w no accidents occurred, and more wonderful that, during the ten years ending June 30th, 1847, only two prisoners died in gaol, though on one occasion (in the old Collins Street prison) there were 113 h u m a n beings confined there, and fever had shown itself more than once. This is a fact which speaks volumes for the medical skill and attention of Dr. Cussen, the acting colonial surgeon of the time. O n e day in June, 1847, Jacob Jacobs, a runaway convict from over the water, arrived in a craft from Launceston. H e had a cabin all to himself during the passage, for, prior to the sailing of the schooner, he stowed himself away in an empty case, and so travelled incog, to Melbourne, where he succeeded, no doubt with the complicity of some of the crew, in disembarking in safety. T h e escapade leaking out by some means, Mr. Jacob Jacobs was hunted up by the police, discovered, and remanded pending the receipt of information from V a n Diemen's Land. T h e Melbourne gaol was his resting-place, where, during the night of the 12th July, he cut or forced a panel of his cell door, got out, and concealed himself in an unoccupied cell in the ground tier. T h e cook of the establishment had his cubiculum upstairs in the second tier, and early in the morning a turnkey proceeded to rouse the cook to prepare breakfast. Whilst the Janitor was so occupied in the upper story, Jacobs, slipping out of his hiding-place, ran into the front yard, and, jumping on to the cook-house, got over the wall and slipped down at the south side, where there was no sentry, cleared out, and was never more heard of. Occasionally sensational canards of cruelty to lunatics and prisoners used to circulate outside; but sometimes the complaints were well founded. Towards the end of this year, serious accusations were made against the gaoler and turnkeys Griffin and Walton. A board of investigation was appointed, and resulted in the dismissal of the turnkeys. A s regards the gaoler the whole case broke down, but it oozed out that when he and his wife were staying in a private cottage at Collingwood, they employed a female prisoner as a servant without leave or licence, THE TREADMILL DESCRIBED.
The treadmill did not after all benefit permanently under the Fulton treatment. It would be quite the correct thing for a week or two, would then take grumpyfits,and so shake the fellows trampling it as to subject them to the action of a sort' of galvanic battery that, every five minutes or so, nearly jerked the life out of them. They would blaspheme and howl like so many foul-tongued fiends; would gnash their teeth, and look with murder in their eye-balls at the gentle M'Cord, the manager. But they could only use their ​voices, for no action except the milling was possible so long as the eccentric dumb animal went round. A m a n on the mill held on by his hands to a strong cross-rail at arm's length over his head, with his feet on one of the steps or grooves inserted from end to end and all round in an immense circular block, in reality to the mill. W h e n the machine was set going, this revolved towards the person on it, and if he missed a step he would get such a tap about the toes, insteps or ankles, as would m a k e him smart for his awkwardness. If he let go his hold of the cross-bar only for an instant, he would be precipitated head foremost on to the mill, and a fractured skull or broken limb, or worse, perhaps, be the consequence. W h e n once up, until the grinding stopped, there was no choice left but to stick on and dance away merrily or otherwise, pleased or displeased, until the signal to halt was given. At length, in 1848, the treadmill underwent a further course of medical coddling, at a cost of ,£100, and, in March, it was declared to be in splendid condition, and capable of accommodating twenty-four in a batch. T h e prison was pretty full; there were a a good m a n y pupils entered on the books of the Terpsichorean A c a d e m y ; and there was never so m u c h life, if not enjoyment, in the new gaol before or since. But the treadmill was not the sole contributory to the sprightliness observable, for one Berry, an ex-Sergeant of Police, and afterwards head turnkey, took it into his head to convert himself into a peripatetic sly-grog shop in connection with the prison, and in this illicit manner he used to supply spirituous liquors to any of the prisoners w h o were able, through themselves or their friends outside, to provide cash or other valuable consideration sufficient to remunerate him for the enterprising venture. But Berry's pitcher journeyed to the well once too often, and was broken ; for the gaoler, " smelling a rat," set himself to detect the fraud, and, catching sherryflagrantedelicto, bowled him out. T h e unlicensed victualler, however, in consequence of some influence worked in his behalf, was simply sent about his business. A fresh difficulty n o w intervened. There was no gaol hospital, and the colonial surgeon was at his wit's end to know what to do with several sick prisoners. O n e of them was, or pretended to be, so dangerously indisposed that the official medico would not answer for his life unless he was moved outside the prison. His n a m e was Smith, serving a sentence for watch-stealing, of which one year remained. There was a small cottage Government Hosjiital in Bourke Street, superintended by an old lady-dependent of the doctor's, and to her care the valetudinarian was transferred by a Judge's Order in April, 1848. Smith and his nurse got on very amicably together for a few days, though, notwithstanding all her tender care, his ailment showed no improvement. O n e night, however, he took the unmanly advantage, whilst his gaoleress was in the arms of Morpheus, to escape through the window, and never after troubled either doctor or anybody else in Melbourne. T h e prisoners about this time often increased to over 100, and on the 13th M a y reached as high as 134. This so alarmed Mr. A. M'Kenzie, the timid little Sheriff, that in a flutter of alarm he applied for two additional turnkeys, and after m u c h circumlocution got them. O n the 6th June, a daring and successful flitting was effected from the gaol. At 4 p.m. the prisoners were mustered; there were a good m a n y in the treadmill yard, and as they were all believed to have passed, as directed, into the main building, the gate connecting the yard with the prison was locked. T w o of the rascals however, managing to slip behind the mill, eluded the observation of the turnkeys, and so were both locked in and locked out at the same time. They were William Booth, a Pentonville exile, under sentence of a year for robbery at Geelong, and John Collins, eighteen months for burglary. W h e n left alone they knew they would not be long so, as no doubt they should be very soon missed, and therefore there was no time to be lost so creeping from their burrow, they cut down a rope line extending across the yard, and mounting the shed that stabled the mill, there m a d e fast the rope, and prepared to descend by means of it. Booth took thefirstturn, slid down, and cut away through the Carlton woods. Collins was not so nimble, and whether through getting entangled with the rope, or losing his presence of mind, he remained swinging between heaven and earth until the sentry on duty outside turning on his beat, saw and captured him. A shot from the soldier turned out the gaoler, turnkeys and guard, but by this time Booth was far away in the bush, and no tidings of him ever came to hand. T h e treadmill had been for some time doing its duty satisfactorily; but the improvement in the machinery was, to some extent, counterbalanced by the inefficiency of the Superintendent, who began by neglect went on to disobedience of orders, and never pulled up, until he put himself out of his billet, and
A "Plant" Sprung.
On the 20th July, a formidable plot amongst some of the prisoners, was accidentally discovered by Jack Harris, the hangman, whose fixed residence was in the gaol. Criminals used to be executed on a scaffold erected in a corner of the treadmill yard, and as the day for a capital punishment approached, Harris came into the place one morning to prepare for putting up the gallows. Whilst pottering about he noticed some object, partially buried near the mill-shed, and on further examination turned up two bundles of rope from a few inches beneath the surface. They were manufactured from blankets, torn up, twisted, and knotted, in two parts, one about twenty-four, and the other sixteen feet in length. This led to an inquiry which elicited the fact, of a conspiracy, amongst twenty-two of the prisoners, for the purpose of escape. Their plan was this : — O n the next day, at eight a.m., the prisoners, when let into the yard, were to disarm and gag the superintendent and turnkey in charge of them, and, climbing to the top of the mill, by the aid of the concealed ropes, get away. T h e only risk they ran was from the senlry posted outside, who, through a recent niggardly order of the Government, was forbidden to keep his gun loaded. The conspirators were secured and searched ; and when it came to the turn of the reputed leader, a convicted highwayman, named Richard Lovell, he refused to surrender, and even threatened toflingWintle (the gaoler) over a bannister. H e was overpowered and heavily ironed, and his conduct was so outrageous, that, on its being reported to the Visiting Magistrate (Mr. Smith), he and Lieutenant Mair, J.P., held an official inquiry, and sentenced the offender tofiftylashes. His punishment was administered on the 4th August, by Harris, the hangman, in the presence of all the prisoners and a strong military guard. This was the second instance ofthe infliction of corporal punishment in gaol in eleven years. Orders were now issued to the sentries to keep their pieces loaded in future, and not before it was needed, for the prisoners were n o in number; some of them the greatest scoundrels conceivable, an admixture of N e w South Welsh and Van Diemonian convictism and English exileism. T o guard this branded and evil-blooded herd there were only seven persons within the gaol, exclusive of the guard outside. Mrs. Wintle, the gaoler's wife, had been, for some time, appointed matron, from which she was now relieved, as all the female patients were removed from the gaol. Collins, the would-be-runaway, detected in the act of escaping, grew very troublesome after that occurrence, so much so, that neither warning, bread and water, nor solitary confinement had any effect upon him, until at length, growing so turbulent and quarrelsome as to become almost unmanageable, on the 20th January, 1849, he was tied up, and a dose of fifty lashes from the hangman-flagellator brought him to his senses. The transportation of Port Phillip felonry to V a n Diemen's Land was discontinued, and on the principle that certain factories are required to consume the noxious gases they generate, the district was expected to keep and maintain its own criminals, and under the conditions of the imperfect and inadequate penal system here, this was plainly impossible. T h e simple detention of short-sentenced prisoners, and those awaiting trial, with the long-sentenced men, between their condemnation and deportation, sufficiently taxed the powers of the weakly-manned prison, and the greatest difficulty was experienced in enforcing proper discipline. The penal servitude prisoners were at intervals drafted to Sydney, where an outcry was soon raised against them, and not much wonder ; for, in June, 1849, there were in the Sydney gaols no less than sixty convicts from Port Phillip, and thirty of our insane patients at Tarban Creek, the lunatic asylum of N e w South Wales. Another formidable conspiracy was detected amongst the prisoners, on the 2nd November. "From information received," the gaoler caused an examination of the shackles, by which Luke Dowling, Lewis Staunton, George Harrup, Michael Murray, J. Bourchett, and F. Boardman were secured; and the irons were found to be so nearly cut through that they could be severed in a moment. These six felons were awaiting transportation to Sydney ; they were hardened, desperate characters, and it was ascertained by the confession of one of them that they intended, at an early opportunity, to unfetter themselves, murder three of the turnkeys, and conceal their bodies in the closet, then secure thefire-arms,let themselves out of the gaol, killing anyone who barred the way, and having escaped, take to bushranging. Murray and Bourchett were each sentenced tofiftylashes, and the others to a spell of solitary confinement. ​On the 20th November, a notorious vagabond, named John May, ineffectually attempted to get away. Brought up at the Police Court as a vagrant, he received three weeks' imprisonment; and in the course of a few days the police obtained reliable information that he was what was known as a " life-bolter," from Hobartown, for w h o m an anxious look-out had been kept for some time. This intelligence reached M a y in prison, and he was well aware that on the expiry of his vagrancy term, he would be re-arrested at the gaol gate, re-imprisoned, remanded to where he fled from, and dealt with as he deserved. This induced him to attempt an escape. H e was confined with two other prisoners, in a cell in the upper tier or corridor, and Hartnett, the head turnkey, having his suspicions excited, had May's cell unexpectedly entered, and there was the prisoner leisurely at hard labour of his own providing, chipping the window-sill, where one of the iron bars was imbedded. The tools employed were a piece of ironflattenedat one end like a chisel, a shoemaker's awl, and a screw, believed to be picked out of the machinery of the treadmill. The bar he had nearly got out, but it had been sunk only a quarter of an inch in the stone ; and on examination a second bar was found to have been removed and replaced, with the crevices in the stoneworkfilledin with soap. May's two companions were admiringly watching the industrial enterprise exhibited before them, and both said and did nothing. May was not only impudent and defiant, but offered considerable resistance; he was soon secured, and an application of Jack Harris' cat, a few days after, made him a sorer, though hardly a wiser man. H e was subsequently returned to Van Diemen's Land, where, possibly, "cats " with worse claws than the Melbourne ones, treated him to severer scratchings. Supposing May to have carried through his project so far as to get out through the cell window, he would have had to effect a forty-feet descent into the >ard, cross two walls studded with broken4 glass, and then chance the now loaded gun of the outside sentinel, before he could securely sniff the free air of liberty. THE TREADMILL IN ORDER.
The treadmill was so improved in its habits as to be a model in time-keeping for the Melbourne clocks, and it had attained such a degree of efficiency at the beginning of 1850, that the fellows compelled to hop on it, declared they could not, and would not stand such nonsense any longer; and so, on the 14th April, twenty-eight of them struck work, or rather, dancing, and swore lustily, that sooner than be longer sweated to death on the mill, they were prepared to undergo any degree of punishment short of hanging. The gaoler remonstrated ineffectually, and one of the chaplains implored them to be submissive, but he was irreverently told " to delay his clapper, and keep his • preachments for Sunday." Mr. E. P. Sturt was then the Visiting Justice, and he was, of course, appealed to. Sturt, though, as a rule, a humane and o-0od-natured man, was capable of much firmness in those times, and as the recusants would not listen to reason, he ordered the whole of them to seven days' "solitary" on bread and water With difficulty this sentence was carried into effect, through want of room, and on the justice and the gaoler going round the last day of the week, to ascertain how the half-starved "solitaries " fared, the refractories were found in such a depressed state of mind and stomach, that, save two, they were all not only willing, but glad to return to that detested mill which they had denounced in terms of unmitigated abhorrence, and on this condition they were enlarged. The two exceptions were a couple of worthies known as " Nobby " Smith and "Bob " Newell, under Supreme Court sentences. "Nobby" bullyragged Mr. Sturt in a style of such profane Billingsgate as would make the most foul-tongued bullock-driver blush; and "Bob" not only slang-whanged, but took to hammering a turnkey. A Court, consisting of the Mayor (Dr. Greeves), and the Visiting Justice, was formed the same day, when Smith was sentenced to thirty-five, and Newell to fifty lashes. Thefloggingwas performed in trenchant. style by T o m Cahill, a newly-appointed hangman, vice Harris dismissed ; and " Nobby " and " his pal " were so tamed thereby, that they returned quiet as lambs, and'rejoined their companions in the milling operations, now resumed with renewed vigour. ' During the night of the 17th June, 1850, William Taylor, alias Hawkins, managed a successful escape Serving a sentence of two years for uttering a forged cheque, he and two other prisoners were immured in a cell in the upper northern tier, the window of which overlooked the treadmill yard. Twisting a rope out of some blankets and forcing a bar, he got through the window, and, no doubt, helped by his companions, let himself down into the yard. From this place there was a door through the West end ​conducting to a wooden stockade recently erected without, where a gang of prisoners used to be employed breaking stones for the Corporation. This door-way had been broken through the wall, and the door put in so recently, that the stones bonding the frame had not time to thoroughly set, facts of which the escapee must have been aware. Entering the Stockade, he found a ladder and by its means surmounted the twelve feet timber enclosure, and got away unperceived by the Military Guard, who, being on duty marching up and d o w n outside the Northern wall, could not have cognizance of what was going on at the other end. This fellow remained at large until February, 1851, when he was re-arrested at Geelong, and subsequently convicted and punished for prison-breaking. T h e two m e n locked up with him were convicted robbers named Craven and Curran, whose sentences had nearly expired, a sufficient reason for not joining in the flight. There was then known to be a Thieves' Association in Melbourne, and Craven, when out of trouble, was believed to be their skeleton-key maker. Nothing was known ofthe escape by the gaol officials until a turnkey came round at five next morning. Craven and Curran, when questioned, professed m u c h surprise and utter ignorance of Taylor's doings, as they were fast asleep the whole night. Whilst in gaol Taylor was identified as the perpetrator of a daring highway robbery on the Broken River, and was, no doubt, unwilling to chance another trial and a probable addition of anotherfiveyears to the sentence he was undergoing. To the credit of that branch of humanity known as woman-kind, it contributed but a small proportion to the criminal population, and when, in July, 1850, the gaol swarmed with 140 males, the number of female prisoners was only 18. INSUBORDINATE STONE-BREAKERS.
- As previously stated a small wooden palisaded enclosure was attached to the Western end of the prison yard, in which a gang used to be employed supplying broken metal for macadamizing the streets, which was used and paid for by the Corporation. O n the 4th March, 1851, about 50 prisoners were employed stone-knapping. They were serving sentences of imprisonment for periods varying from two and three, to five years, and were under the control of two free overseers (Murphy and Hartnett) and a warder (queerly enough named Tender) fully armed. In addition there was a soldier-sentry on guard perambulating the North side of the gaol yard, and a military reserve of four m e n in the guard room. The three free overseers were assisted by three good-conduct prisoners as acting-overseers, named Williams, Boucher and Doyle. About 3 p.m., Thompson, one of the stone-breakers, rushed suddenly to the outer gate, and with a couple of strokes of his hammer, smashed the lock. Half-a-dozen others were instantaneously up in arms with picks and hammers, as if acting in concert, and determined to support their leader. Murphy and Hartnett called upon them to desist, and Murphy snatching a hammer, charged Thompson, but was in his turn followed and pinioned by a prisoner named Johnstone. Murphy quickly shook the fellow off, and turning rapidly round, throttled him. Hartnett gave an alarm, which was heard without by Tender, w h o planted himself in front of the door, prepared for action. Before the commencement ofthe melee, Salmon and Quinn two of the prisoners contrived, unnoticed by the overseers, to secure the door, communicating with the gaol yard, by shooting a large bolt, and so shutting off assistance from within. A general scuffle now ensued, though the deadly weapons in every one's hands were not resorted to. It was a kind of blind scrambling, in the course of which the convict overseers gave much help, and one of them was pounced upon by a huge highwayman, named M'Kay, w h o tried hard, but unavailingly to garrote him. Jack Harris, the ex-hangman, was at this time serving a sentence for larceny at Geelong, and the gaoler sagaciously employed him as a look-out over the stone yard. His watch-tower was one of the upper windows from which the bars were removed, and here, perched like an owl, he passed his time tiresomely enough. H e was a wicked-minded old scamp, praying Providence for something to turn up to vary the stillness of the gaol, and the ding dong of the stone-breaking. H e had no gong to strike nor bell to ring, nor rocket to throw up if anything went wrong. H e could screech like a hungry hya?na, and the gaoler's orders were, "Harris, the m o m e n t you observe anything go wrong, you have good lungs, and you are to commence yelling and shouting, and making every noise you can out of your mouth and throat until some of us below hear you." Harris promised compliance, and when the chance offered kept ​his word. Wintle (the gaoler) was reclining on a sofa in his quarters, indulging after a worrying forenoon's work, in a forty-wink nap, when he was startled by a distant sound which astonished him. It was an outcry such as he never before heard through an eventful experience in many lands. It was a discordant combination of bellowing and crowing, as if blown by some supernatural power through a Titanic trombone. " G o o d Heavens," cried he to his wife (the matron), " W h a t on earth can this be? T h e prisoners have all gone mad, or there is something extraordinary up inside." T h e guards were stationed next door to him, and turning them out, Wintle jumped upon a ladder, and obtained a view of the North side of the prison, when the first object that met his view was Harris with his head through the watch-tower observatory, his hands improvised into a speaking trumpet, and the "look out" howling and roaring—not only black in the face, but as if he would blow himself to atoms in one of his gusts of vociferation. Wintle at once surmised what was wrong, and with a strapping young Scotchman named M'Tavish (the prison clerk), backed up by the corporal's guard with fixed bayonets, he hastened to the scene of action. In his precipitation he took the wrong road, for, instead of hastening round outside to the stockade end, he rushed through the main building into the yard, and on reaching the door in the end wall, found it fastened on the wrong side. H e knocked and kicked and hammered for ingress, but was answered only by the hubbub of the conflict a few yards off; he sent for an axe to break open the door, but before it could be fetched, the door opened, in consequence of a Madras man, named Mingo, one of the prisoners, having withdrawn the bolt. Thompson, the ringleader, after forcing the outer gate, found himself confronted by the Warder (Tender) and the soldier-sentry, who, on hearing the scuffling, ran round. H e swore at them, and threatened all sorts of vengeance, but the taste of cold steel indicated by the point of the soldier's glittering bayonet scared him from further advance. O n turning round to take counsel with some of his co-ruffians, the gaoler met him face to face, and throwing up his hands Thompson exclaimed in a loud despairing voice " 'Tis no go, boys," and then surrendered unconditionally. All the other malcontents did likewise, and they were marched off to their cells and locked in. T h e next day the Visiting Magistrate (Mr. Sturt) and Captain Dana, J.P, conducted a magisterial inquiry with the result that—Henry Thompson, Samuel Johnstone and William M ' K a y were sentenced each to three weeks' solitary confinement; Luke Quinn, and George Salmon, fourteen days ; William Hatfield, T h o m a s Lewis, and William Davies, seven days;—bread and water to be the dietary of all of them. Such a punishment was altogether insufficient for three or four of the villains, w h o should have been severelyflogged,and it is difficult to account for the leniency, especially as Dana was not a m a n ever disposed much on the side of mercy; and Sturt's good judgment was seldom at fault. O n this occasion it erred egregiously. " PIPING " TO LIBERTY.
The most extraordinary escape, perhaps, ever recorded in the annals of this or any other country occurred on the n t h October, 1851. T w o m e n named John Smith and Henry Staunton were in gaol awaiting trial for robberies. Acting in concert, they watched an opportunity, and at 1.30 p.m. slipped away separately to an out-house then situated near the Western end of the prison yard. A n iron pipe, 30 feet long, and 2 feet 1 inch in diameter, formed a communication from the closet with a cess-pool sunk 30 feet outside the yard wall, and within the stone-breaking enclosure already described, but in a portion now separated, where the broken metal used to be left until carted away. T h e reservoir happened to be uncovered, as the vidangeur had been at work there only the night before. Of its empty state the two prisoners must have been aware, otherwise they would never have concocted the plan which they successfully carried through. Descending to the closet, they groped out the pipe, into which they penetrated, Smith leading. H o w they advanced through this disgusting tunnel it is difficult to say. They had the advantage of a continuous incline, and, there being little obstacle, on they went. Possibly one m a n could not have done it through the insufficiency of motive power, but in this case the hindward propelled the foremost, holding on to him all the time ; and at length, reaching the reservoir, Smith got into it, Staunton remaining perdu until he saw how it fared with his leader. All the broken metal had been carted away by the corporation drays, and the enclosure was quite empty. T h e gate was left carelessly open, as it was supposed there was nothing to shut in, and so far the odds were immensely in favour of the ​"outward bound." In the reservoir was fixed a pump, and up this Smith climbed, breathed in the fresh air, and looked about. Finding the coast clear, he quickly jumped into the enclosure, m a d e for the open gate, and ran as if for his life. T h e outside warder on duty over the stone-breaking gang, seeing the strangelooking figure emerge from the enclosure, at once took it for granted there was an escape, immediately acquainted the military sentry of the fact, and they both started off in pursuit. T h e fugitive m a d e for the bush along Victoria Street—then an unformed, uneven, stumpy track—and, as there were several persons passing backwards and forwards, the soldier was afraid tofireat Smith, lest he might shoot someone else. T h e consequence was the runner had a good start, and, though sadly handicapped in consequence of his subterranean excursion, the soldier was equally at a disadvantage through the weight of his accoutrements, whilst the warder had too m u c h flesh to be in racing condition. At length the soldierfiredat the flying target, grazing it, but doing no harm. T h e gunshot report brought out the corporal and his guard with Wintle (the gaoler), but the latter was so solemnly stout and stiff in his limbs, that to lead a foot-hunt was altogether out of his line. S o m e of the soldiers were active young fellows, and off they pegged, blazing away, but throwing their bullets far astern of the mark, which kept well out of range. Smith pelted on northward of the old cattle yard, at the n o w junction of Victoria and Elizabeth streets ; and, keeping the Old Cemetery well to the left, clapped on all sail, steering towards the Benevolent Asylum, then on the eve of being opened. T w o of the soldiers pushed ahead, determined, if possible, to run him to earth, but their guns and equipments retarded them, and the runaway could beat them hollow. Half-a-dozen civilians joined in the fun, and helter-skelter along they galloped as fast as legs could carry them, the course frequently changing from a flat to a steeplechase country, where small, nasty water leaps had to be taken and fallen trees jumped, for there was no time for going round to an easy crossing, as Smith hit out in regular bee-line style. It was neck or nothing with him, " a gold chain or a wooden leg," and a barked shin or two was of little account where freedom beckoned him on, and the hangman's " cats" caterwauled from behind. Sometimes the hunters m a d e good running, and the excitement was varied by random shots fired by the guard, and once they were so close that a bullet struck within a foot of thefleeingheels. O n nearing the asylum, Smith put on full steam for afinaleffort, and as it was up hill, his superior powers of locomotion so told in his favour that he topped therisingground to the north of the asylum, leaving his pursuers well in the rear. H e dashed d o w n the other side, and, on getting within shelter of a large fallen tree—for there was m u c h dead wood about—burrowed under it. and lay there panting. T h e others were soon on the crown of the hill, when, to their astonishment, on looking around they could observe no trace of the fugitive, and what had become of him was matter for m u c h surprise ; to lose sight of him was passing strange, but to be completely thrown off the scent was marvellous. H o w to act, or what next to do was a puzzle, for black-trackers were then unknown, and a blood-hound was not accessible. During the hunt the party were observed by a son of the gaoler, Master George Wintle (then in his thirteenth year), as he was returning from school, and, being a light, nimble lad, with thefleetnessof a young deer, he followed the hue and cry, and arrived on the hill almost as soon as the rest. Whilst they were in a quandary, this youngster treated himself to a coursing match, and, making a circuit of the valley, in skirting a fallen tree he smelt something near him, and a little further investigation disclosed the form of a m a n coiled up like an opossum. A shout of triumph from the finder quickly brought the rest to the place, and there lay Smith at bay. W h e n ordered to c o m e out, he bluntly refused to do so, and sulkily dared any of them to lay afingeron him. T h efilthycondition in which he had parted company with the reservoir, amply warranted his adopting noli me tangere as a motto, without the permission of any Herald's College, and no person present seemed disposed to be brought into close quarters with him. O n e of the soldiers proposed to shoot, and another to prod him out with a bayonet; but though it m a y be justifiable to kill or wound aflyingenemy, a lawyer's clerk in attendance ruled that it was highly illegal to resort to such violence against a person so hors de combat. T h e next proposal was to smoke him out of his lair, and when Smith heard some of them preparing to gather a heap of green bushes for the purpose, he voluntarily came forth and offered to surrender, but no one was willing to take him into custody. It wasfinallyarranged that Smith should march back to the gaol in front of the soldiers, w h o followed with their loaded guns at the "ready," and were prepared to shoot him if he attempted to run. This was done accordingly, and Smith, as if enjoying a kind of triumph, headed the return procession, and all the way was in the most ​exuberant spirits, looking over his shoulder, grinning and putting out his tongue, chaffing them as a pack of cripples w h o knew nothing about running or shooting, and offering, if they would only give him a ten yards' start, he would race them again, and let them fire away as m u c h as they liked after him. Smith was afterwards convicted and punished by a long sentence of hard labour on the roads for his original offence. But now I must return to the other fellow (Staunton), left stopping the mouth of the pipe, in m u c h uncertainty as to how it would fare with the mate w h o so skilfully piloted him thus far. With a throbbing heart he listened as Smith ascended ab inferno through the help of the pump, and he soon heard thefirstof thefiring,the alarm, and the shouts of the guard setting forth in pursuit. T h e stone-breaking gang were locked up in the gaol, and as it was never for a m o m e n t imagined that there was a second m a n " piped," no one looked after the enclosure where the metal used to be stored. In a short time a perfect quiet reigned about the region of the reservoir, and then Staunton crawled forth like a huge snail from its shell, and, mounting the p u m p as he had seen Smith do, got into the upper world, and lost no time in making off. Passing through the gateway, he had a safe view of the n o w distant running, and shaped a course different from that taken by Smith. H e m a d e a short circuit towards the side of the Hospital reserve (now the Public library grounds), intending to double back towards Little Lonsdale Street, where some of his thieving confederates were residing, and in any of whose dens he knew he would be welcomed. H e was just on the turn, when the Supreme Court crier, an undersized, podgy, asthmatic individual, named Black, intercepting, pompously challenged him in the Queen's n a m e to surrender. Smith, in reply, bade the intruder go to somewhere commencing with H , and warned him to "stand clear, or he would suffer for it." Black was resolved to do nothing of the kind, and not possessing the olfactory sensitiveness of the Smith hunters, rushed upon Staunton, grappled with him, and clung on like a barnacle to the bottom of a ship. Staunton treated the other to an affectionate embrace that half-stifled him, and the two worthies came down rolling over on the ground. Staunton being the m u c h stronger m a n soon shook off his would-be captor, jumped up, and treated Black to a parting kick in the ribs, which left him for some time senseless. T h e fellow then disappeared by the Ship Lnn corner, down Little Lonsdale Street, where there were some rights-of-way of bad repute, and into one of these back-slums he vanished, and all trace of him was lost. O n Black reviving, as soon as he was capable of moving, he limped off in search of a constable, w h o m he soon found, and all the available police in the city were quickly out in quest ofthe second bolter. They searched for him high and low, up and down, and everywhere without effect, and his escape was m u c h aided by the fact that, being a very recent arrival from V a n Diemen's Land, the detectives and ordinary constables had but small personal knowledge of him. T h e expedition through the pipe was even more than a nine days' wonder in Melbourne. It was deemed a feat of a most extraordinary character, considering the size andfilthystate of the tube through which the fellows passed. M u c h curiosity was also evinced as to h o w Smith and Staunton had become familiarized with the subterranean topography of the conduit; but it was afterwards ascertained that a person named ^Chambers had been received into the gaol under a sentence for bigamy, on the morning of the escape. H e was the Government contractor for nocturnal work of a certain kind and the night before his trial (for he was out on bail) his m e n had emptied the reservoir. H e was therefore well acquainted with the termini, both inside and outside the prison, and he had given Smith and Staunton the bearings and gradients of the tubular contrivance, and such other information as they found useful in transitu. W h e n all this was known, several of the prisoners deeply regretted their ignorance of the valuable secret, and it was believed that Chambers had imparted the private intelligence to none others than the two worthies indicated. In the course of a short time, but " a day after the fair," it was found by the police that on the night of the occurrence, Staunton slipped unperceived out of town, and passing through Collingwood struck into the Sydney Road beyond Brunswick, with the intention of making his way overland to Sydney A person answering his description put up at a public-house at Seymour, where he was heard to declare that he was going to Sydney to murder his wife, w h o had, since his committal for trial, eloped with a m a n with w h o m she was cohabiting there. It was also said that he changed his mind (also his n a m e to Williams), and, turning westward, had travelled circuitously towards Portland, and stayed at the Grange, where he had been employed some years before. Here he feigned illness, and limped about with a large ​blister on his breast, displayed so ostentatiously as to admit a portion of it being seen. At this time there were two brothers, named Bloomfield, Chief-Constables in Victoria, viz, one in Melbourne, and the other at the Grange. A s a reward was offered for Staunton's apprehension, no doubt the Melbourne Bloomfield kept the brother Veil posted as to all the rumoured movements of the runaway. This led to the arrest ofthe supposed criminal, and on being brought before the Grange Police Court he did not deny that he was the person wanted. H e was remanded to Melbourne, and the Grange police were in a great slate of uneasiness for fear such a desperado might effect a second escape on his journey to the capital. H e was consequently heavily ironed, and put on board thefirstvessel sailing from Portland to Melbourne, when to m a k e doubly sure of his safe custody, he was chained to the mast day and night. At the end of the month he arrived in town, when it was ascertained, to the ineffable disgust of all concerned, that the prisoner was not Staunton, but quite a different person—some half-witted fool, who, through a morbid craving for notoriety, had actually stated since his remand, that he was the real Simon Pure. But the real Staunton did after all go to Sydney, where, in the course of a few months, he got into a drunken row, and was locked up in a watch-house. Here he was recognised, and remanded to Melbourne, which he reached in the early part of 1852, and was tried for the crime for which he had been in thefirstinstance committed. At the end of 1851, provision was m a d e for strengthening the staff of the gaol, and in addition to the gaoler and matron, there were eleven male and four female turnkeys, and the executioner was still retained at the daily wage of 2s. 6d. and rations. Additions to the gaol seemed for some time to be so indispensable, that in May, 1851, the erection of a new parallel wing was commenced, but it was not to be finished for two years. It was to provide for one hundred prisoners, in three tiers of cells, of seventeen on each side. T h e walls were to be of blue basalt, more durable, and better to the eye than the brown stone (half free and half sand) of the first wing. This m a d e a slow progress atfirst,but the gold fever that broke out before the year was over, gave it an impetus little expected when the foundation was laid.
WINTLE'S PLUCK AND COOLNESS.
In quelling the several attempts at insubordination and prison-breaking, Mr. Wintle always showed a coolness and courage before which the rebelling prisoners would quail, and more than once he narrowly escaped injury at their hands. O n one occasion a fellow struck him a furious blow with a broom-handle across the throat, and got half choked himself in return. Often in the evening, Wintle used to take a walk from the gaol to Brunswick to visit some friends residing there. T h e country northward of the gaol was then a wild, uninhabited bush, and his way was through a portion of the Royal Park. Near sundown he was once leisurely returning on his constitutional, and when passing through the n o w University Reserve, was suddenly confronted by an ex-prisoner, who, presenting a pistol at his whilom guardian, exclaimed, " N o w , you , I've got you—stand !" Wintle looked the m a n straight in the face, knocked the pistol out of his hand, administered the rascal a sound kicking, and leisurely resumed his walk home. N o peison, save his family, ever heard a word about the rencounter, until it was recently communicated to m e by one of them. Mr. Wintle retained his onerous office up to 1869, when he was most unnecessarily required by the Government to retire on a well-deserved pension. H e died on the 28th April, 1870, and there can be little doubt that his end was accelerated through being relieved from active employment, and worry about the settlement of the amount of compensation or superannuation to which he felt himself entitled, there being circumstances in his case that could not be fairly met by the Civil Service Act. T h efinalarrangement was hung up so long that it is only recently that a compromise has been effected with his family. Strangely enough Wintle was succeeded in the governorship of the Melbourne Gaol by Mr. J. B. Castieau, w h o obtained an appointment there through Wintle, in 1852. M r . Castieau w h o had proved himself a thoroughly efficient public officer, was subsequently Inspector-General of Penal Establishments,
The Pentridge Stockade.
The ovum or organism from which has germinated the now large penal repository of Pentridge—exteriorly and interiorly more like a strongly fortified town than anything else, except that its inhabitants are so divided into castes as to be divisioned in sections from each other—was so shabby, insignificant and feeble as to pass the belief of any person who did not see it. It was something larger and stronger than the first prisoners' barracks, put up by order of Captain Lonsdale in 1836, on the "Government block." The prisoners' huts were constructed of logwood instead of bark, and the enclosing fence of strong stakes and thick paling, in lieu of ti-tree boughs and branches. In 1850, when the separation of Port Phillip from New South Wales was virtually fait accompli, a portion of the present Pentridge locale was chosen as a suitable site for the erection of a stockade, or place of detention for the prisoners to be employed on the public roads or works, and a beginning was made in August, by the construction of two rows of huts, about twenty in all. The appointment of Superintendent was eagerly sought for by a dozen applicants, amongst them being Sergeant Ashley, the then head of the Melbourne Detectives. But Mr. Latrobe thought it better to secure the services of some officer who had graduated in a regular Penal establishment, a man of known experience in dealing with criminals of every tint of crime and disposition—one skilled in checkmating the convicts known to be adepts and sojourners in the Stockade, either runaway or expiree felons from New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. A Mr. Samuel Barrow who had won his spurs in the management of the convict departments at Hobartown and Port Arthur, accordingly received the appointment whereby a good deal of local jealousy was occasioned. The residents in and around the township now known as Coburg, were greatly alarmed at the planting of a convict taint amongst them, and they were apprehensive of rapine and robbery, from what they considered to be the inevitable result of frequent outbreaks of the prisoners. To quiet their fears sufficient protection was promised them, and accordingly eight constables were stationed there, with a sergeant and seven black troopers, quartered in the immediate vicinity of the Stockade.
On the 5th December, 1850, thefirstbatch of convicts was removed from the gaol. Barrow was so much delighted at being able to make a commencement, that he actually worked up a small processional display, and the following was the order of march out of town:—
The Stockade Superintendent in a cab.
Sixteen prisoners handcuffed, and some of them leg-ironed, all clad in prison garb, each fellow branded "Pentridge" on his back, and an armed warder on each side.
District Chief-Constable Brodie on horseback.
Six constables armed cap-a-pie.
Sergeant and two black troopers.
The party arrived at its destination without any mishap; and the prisoners being distributed amongst the huts, watches were set, and some of the "black guard" mounted darkies ordered to act as a patrol.
On the 10th December the stockaders were increased to 25, and the first hard labour they were put to was the collection of surface stones wherewith to erect a watch-house. There were at this time 41 Port Phillip convicts serving their time in Sydney, and, by way of Christmas-box, 34 of them, as "returned goods," arrived in Melbourne on the 22nd December, of whom 27 were forthwith detached to Pentridge. Two working gangs were formed and set to labour at road-making. They were watched over by five constables with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, and two black troopers were perpetually riding round the workers with double-barrelled rifles ready to pop after any fellow disposed for a run. The order of the day was, that if any prisoner attempted an escape he was to be called on to stand, and if he did not comply instanter, he was to be shot at.
For three months or thereabouts Mr. Barrow had calm weather and a smooth sea, and he and his mixed crew got on swimmingly; but the sky soon darkened, the winds rose, and the waters of circumstance turned into an angry surge. In fact, for the three and a-half years he held command, he was scarcely ever out of squalls or hurricanes of one kind or other. The first outbreak occurred on the 26th March, 1851. Seventeen convicts were employed a short way from the Stockade, and, in the course of the afternoon, one of them picking up a tidy knob of a stone, and aiming at the eye of Constable Price,fired with such precision ​as to bring his m a n down. A second convict named Rich, seized the fallen warrior's gun, and, waving it as a signal, started for the bush, followed by all the other prisoners. T h e black police patrollers charged after the ringleaders, at w h o m one of them named "Jack"fired,when Rich, turning, discharged Price's gun, but without effect. T h e musket report acted like wild-fire in bringing forth the whole guard, rank and file, when there was a smart run for it, and nine of the runaways were captured. T h e same night two more prisoners escaped by scaling the fence or palisade, but they were re-taken, and the next day the hangman was out from Melbourne, and had a regular "go in" with his cat-o'-nine-tails; for the eleven fugitives, and a twelfth for gross insubordination, received a stiff flogging. Amongst them was Rich, w h o was afterwards tried at the Supreme Court for feloniously shooting at the trooper. It was urged on his behalf that he fired in self-defence, a plea which the jury were simple or ignorant enough to swallow, for they acquitted him. T h e remaining eight of the seventeen got away miles into the interior, took to bushranging, and committed several daring depredations with impunity. Scarcely a week passed without an escape or two, but as a rule the scoundrels were re-captured and punished. Barrow issued a regulation that the labour gangs should dine where they worked, but after a time this was strongly objected to, because of the discomfort and inconvenience, especially in wet weather. T h e question was referred for the consideration of the Visiting Magistrate (Mr. Sturt), and he decided that on fine days the noon-day feed should decidedly be al fresco. T h e prisoners still persisted in their objection, and, headed by a plucky little "Pentonvillian" known as O w e n Suffolk, they struck work. H e was energetically seconded by a co-convict (Dillon), and each was condemned to two months' imprisonment, cumulative on the sentence he was serving. About this neither cared a rush. Next morning when the labour parties were being taken out, it was found that the arch-agitators (Suffolk and Dillon) were to be confined to barracks, and the others vowed they would not go without them. In this dilemma the Visiting Magistrate's aid was again invoked, and on his arrival he intimated that they should have the rest of the day and the night to think over it; but if on the next morning they persisted in their disobedience, he would order every m a n Jack of them to receive 100 lashes each. This hint brought them to reason, for the following day they quietly resumed work. August of the year 1851 was wet and boisterous; and one dark, rainy, nasty night (the 19th), a wholesale attempted escape was made. Twenty-five prisoners were in the plot, and raising some of the flooring boards, they excavated a narrow tunnel through the m u d and stone of the foundations, hoping by so undermining to burrow out under cover of the gloom and the tempest. Barrow had obtained some private information of the project, and had a force in readiness for its frustration. H e accordingly appeared in the back-ground just as the operations for exit were about completed, and spoiled the little game. But he seemed to have been rather premature, for so decided a magisterial board (Messrs. Sturt and Fenwick) constituted for the trial of the offenders, by w h o m it was held that the evidence of the intended outbreak was insufficient, for Barrow ought to have " waited a little longer." About 9 a.m. of the 29th August, a large convict gang was employed road-mending or making, a mile on the Melbourne side of the Stockade, and thirty of them suddenly bolted, of w h o m eighteen dashed off from the works and disappeared. T h e guard consisted of four armed constables, w h o fired into the mob, one of w h o m , (Robert Taylor), under a five years' sentence, was shot dead, a second (George Foyer) dangerously, and a third slightly wounded. It was Constable Price whose shot took fatal effect. T h e prisoner dangerously wounded received a bullet in the side which came out near his breast, and he, almost miraculously, recovered. T w o of the four guards remained in charge of such of the prisoners as did not run, whilst Price and the fourth constable started away in pursuit. T h e black troopers (two of w h o m were supposed to be on duty) seem to have been asleep during the melee, but they turned up soon after. T h e fugitives scattered in twos and threes, each small squad taking the point of the compass which offered the best chance of a safe run. There had been recent floods, the Merri Creek was swollen almost to bursting, and two of the fellows w h o made for it were frightened by its frothy snarling, and, preferring land to water', had to retrograde, and strike out as best they could. Half-a-dozen m a d e post'haste for Melbourne, and were pursued by Mr. Grattan Anderson (son of the Pentridge poundkeeper) and a black trooper. T h e runaways, w h o had a good start, reached Brunswick, when some civilians, seeing they were escaping convicts, intercepted and bailed them into a paddock, where by the help of Anderson and the trooper, ​they were secured and conducted back. W h e n the alarm was spread, the residents cheerfully rendered assistance. A stray straggler was picked up here and there, but the most desperate of the villains for a time baffled pursuit. W h e n intelligence of the outburst reached Melbourne, the city and district ChiefConstables (Bloomfield and Brodie), were soon in the saddle and away with some troopers to join in the hunt. They visited the Saltwater River and the Merri Creek, and posted constables in several places with the view to cut off retreat. Before next morning the convicts were all recaptured except three (the worst ofthe lot), and one of them was discovered working as a baker's boy at Richmond, with his "Jim Crow" hat turned inside out, the broad arrow obliterated from his clothes, and the illuminated letters "Pentridge" whitened off his back, and, in order that he might be taken for a denizen ofthe "floury" land, he procured lime and white-washed his clothes. It is singular that one Farrell, the ringleader and thefirstto rush, was thefirstto surrender. H e was all bounce and bravado until he heard thefirstshot fired. A coroner's inquest was held on Taylor, the man shot dead, and the jury returned as their verdict, that death had been caused by a gun-shot wound inflicted by a duly authorised constable upon a prisoner whilst endeavouring to escape from legal custody. A rider was added expressing approval of the conduct of the police. O n the next night (30th), eleven of the captured prisoners were ironed and kept together. Some noise was heard from their quarter of the Stockade, and on the Superintendent examining as to the cause, he was astonished to find that all the fellows had their irons off; and a closer inspection revealed an aperture cut in the roof of the building, and concealed by an old shirt drawn over it like a curtain. H o w this had been effected remained one of the ten thousand and one lost secrets of the since big prison-house. The prisoners were freshly and doubly ironed, and on the 1st September were convicted before a Magisterial Board of attempting to abscond. They were sentenced to one hundred lashes each, and thefloggingswere served out there and then. Still the application of the scourge failed to keep the prisoners within reasonable bounds of subordination, and the gold mania, then in its incipient stage, no doubt was a powerful factor in the disaffection. As an additional terror, Harris, the ex-hangman, was transferred from the gaol to the Stockade, where it was thought the presence of a resident fouetteur would operate salutarily, and he was kept so fully employed as to be unequal to the amount of work he had daily in hand, so that it was necessary to have the actual hangman (Cahill) to help him. ATTEMPT TO LEVEL PENTRIDGE.
In the construction of the Stockade iron screws and nuts were used, so that the frame could be, at any time, shifted like a travelling circus, from place to place ; and this faulty mode of conformation did not escape the observation of the class of beings domiciled there. It occurred to some of the most scientific of them that if at any given time one side of a row of nuts were unscrewed, the whole concern would topple over, and a general escape would not be an insuperable difficulty. It was consequently agreed to make the experiment. The unscrewing was secretly commenced, and on the night of the 9th September, the crisis was to be brought about. But the Superintendent got wind of the plot through information secretly conveyed to him by one of the spies inseparable from such communities, and being on the qui vive, he caught six of the principals, red-handed, and had them forwarded next morning to the Melbourne gaol. Three of them were leg-ironed, and to these were handcuffed the remainder, and under an escort of four black-troopers, and two infantry policemen, they were dispatched on their journey. They arrived safely at Russell Street, and whilst awaiting admittance at the gate of the prison, one of them, Callaghan (a five years' man), snapping his bracelets, dashed away, and running round by the Court-house, plunged into a crowd collected there for a Legislative Council nomination about to come off. H e was followed by one of the constables from whom he had broken away, loudly calling upon him to surrender, to which a deaf ear was given. The constable, whose conduct was cool and self-possessed, continued the pursuit, and whilst the fugitive was furiously wriggling his way through the people, he received a carbine ball, which, entering under the left shoulder, came out at his ribs, smashing one of them. H e fell, and was removed, in a dangerous condition, to the gaol, but the thread of life was strong in him, and he afterwards recovered. ​The report of the shot created an immense sensation amongst the free and independent electors, and the wonder was h o w no one else was injured. T h e next step taken was the issue of an order for the withdrawal of all long-sentenced prisoners from Pentridge to Melbourne, there to undergo their punishment in the gaol. In October the increasing gold excitement grew so intense that it was thought advisable to discontinue all the road gangs, and have no prisoners at all worked out of the Stockade. Even this place was weeded not only of the m e n consigned to lengthened servitude, but of all others bearing a bad character. It consequently became, for a while, a refuge for such as were inoffensive and under light sentences, and a sergeant, with a military guard of twelve, was stationed there to maintain order. T h e salary of the Stockade Superintendent was ,£250 per annum, with board, residence, and bond servants, and provision was m a d e on the Estimates for 1852 to give him an Assistant at ,£125, with like et celeras. T h e next few years brought those universal changes which swept over the new colon}', and disarranged all forecastings of the future; and in no branch of the Public Service was its influence felt more than in that Pentridge of whose infancy I have presented a brief and imperfect sketch. Mr. Samuel Barrow was an able and painstaking officer, but a tragic fate awaited both him and his successor. Barrow reigned only about four years (1850-4), and was accidentally drowned in 1854, on the day Mr. Latrobe, thefirstLieutenant-Governor of Victoria, left the colony. There were several boat-loads of friends seeing the Governor off at Sandridge, and one of them had amongst its freight Mr. Barrow and Dean O'Hea, whilom R o m a n Catholic Pastor at Coburg. This boat capsized; the layman was drowned, but the priest hit out so lustily, and, though overboard, "paddled his o w n canoe" with such persistent skill as to be saved. M a n y m e n have been known to kick themselves out of the world, but it was simply by mere dint of hands and feet that Dean O'Hea barely contrived to keep himself in it. Mr. John Price, another Vandemonian, expert in the art of managing prisoners, was appointed to Pentridge, but his fate, though as sudden, was more terrible than Barrow's, for in March, 1857, he was murdered by a working gang of convicts at Williamstown, several of w h o m were hanged for the crime.