The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-04-25
THE GIANT OF Prisons
Australia Has the Biggest Jail
in the World.
Its Occupants of the Present Day
Only TotterIng War Veterans and
Inmates Look Upon IL as n Con-
genial HOme-FOur Rusty Cannon.


nent Of Australia nestles the little coast
town OF Fremantle. and half mile back
of it. surrounded by sand dunes and malice
scrub. is famous old convict prison-tae
/ largest penal institution in the world And
yet. comparatively few people, ever IN
Australia. know Of its existence Western
Australia, the division in which FremantIe
lies, was the last Crown colony of the Aus
! tralasian group. and it was not until TWEEN
! ty-tive years ago that the steady stream Of
/ convict ships ceased 10 touch its shores.
Old Botany Bay. near Sydney. on the
east coast. had been Britain's principal
/ convict settlement for nearly half a cen
. fury. but the rapid growth OF New South
Wales and the force Of public opinion turn
ed the place with its grim history from
, living hell to one OF the most beautiful lit
7 tie suburban cities on the continent. IL
was then that the town of Fremantle be-
\ gan TO MI up rapidly, necessitating The
erection Of stone jail capable Of holding
I within its walls IS 900 conVicts-the major
/ ity OF them being probably the most hard
F, ened criminals Of the century. The build
I ing OF this prison was What is known as a
Crown job, and. like most British public
works Of that kind, was completed .on
honor" Probably centuries will pass BE-
/ fore its solid seven-fOCt granite walls will
crumble or its bsttlements show signs Of
decay.
Western Australia continued 10 grow,
and. after bearing for many years the
stigma OF convict settlement" was al last
freed from the stain. as her sister colony
/ had been years before the home Govern
ment announcing that il would send no
more OF its convict classes 70 the continent
Of Australia. The day that this proclama-
ton reached Western Australia the people
, began a week of joyful demonstration and
fetes in celebration OF the decision And
from that day too. they began 20 let the
very existence Of the place back IN the Ere
mantle hills die out Of their memory.
But the convict prison continued to hold
its thousands for the decree, in shutting
OF the immigration. also announced that
the life eoByiets already in the jail should
be held there till they -t@d. And so. after
few years. the prison settled down into a
humdrum routine, city n itself OF death
in life, with no new arrivals, no excite
ment. no release from the pitiless daily
routine ill the grave claimed the body
and held it in its embrace but a few feet
outside the Jail gates.
The jailers in the prison, one to every
twenty-five eonvicts. were drawn exclus-
lively from the ranks Of war veterans Old
heroes OF the Crimea and the Indian mu-
tiny. many OF them with their breasts
covered With clasps and medals. went
down the road 10 the grave side BY side
with the men they guarded. With the
passing Of the years the hand OF time be-
gan 20 lay heavy on all alike In 1885,
when I last visited the prison there was
a fascination In watching the quiet. dron-
ing existence that its few remaining in
mites led There were only about seventy
veterans and 400 convicts left. and OF these
yearly all were white headed and totter-
ing Most Of them hobbIed slowly round
the enormous quadTangles. pottered about
the gardens that latterly they had been
permitted 20 keep and fraternized and
mediated together, prisoners and keepers
alike. Every Saturday afternoon the vet
erans donned their threadbare and faded
military uniforms. pinned or their medals
and. with their old flags carried ahead.
would march proudly but slowly down
through the principal street OF the little
tow 20 the beach and then back again
lone Cut OF by many years OF alb
sence from the old ties and held close
10 their prison life in the new colony
they had become ObliViOU5 to everything
but their old war memories. the village
paper, and the prison
The conviots were past all thought OF
escape. Time and age had dried up their
criminal prOpensities. and they we're as
harmless as little children. i-deed. rot IN
like little children in many ways. There
were very few Of them that had not some
black history of shame and degradation as
prelude 10 their convict life. but on the
peaceful. strange immensely Of that almost
empty prison they were doing out TER
few remaining years in pure and simple
/ living. Doll houses made from shells cur
ningiy woven baskets and carved malice
roots for sale 10 visitors-these things
with their flower beds took up all their
time Once. when the Duke o. Edinburgh
visited Western Australia. the guards went
out in a body to the FTemantle wharf to
greet him, leaving the prison gates open.
Half a dozen of the coavicts followed the
gay old fellows down 20 the water and
| back again Ali could have gone il they
had liked. but they preferred TO stay
home Fremantle jail is probably the
only penal institution in the world where
prisoners may wander in and out bask in
the sun in front OF the big froWning en-
trance and sit and sleep. as have watched
many Of them do. with their backs propp I'd
up against the outside Of the walls. IL
was an old mems home-without the
wFangling and discord that usually exist
IN those institutions
Four old cannon that stood guarding the
four main walks that lead to the entrance
gates and once filled night and day with
grapeshot typified in their appearance the
change that had come over this city OF
shackles.'
They stood unloaded, covered with rust.
their once gaping. threatening mouths
plugged with earth out of which grew
beautiful Australian rich plants with their
stsrlike scarlet blossoms.-Chicago Times
Herald