Bathurst Correctional Complex
Encyclopedia
Bathurst Correctional Complex is an Australian prison
located 3 kilometres west of Bathurst
, New South Wales
, Australia
. The current structure incorporates buildings constructed in 1888. The Complex serves as a reception prison for western NSW. A minimum-security cellblock, known as X Wing, is located outside the walls of the main part of the gaol.
meant exposure to the elements. Prisoners spent 18 hours of each day in their cell
s. Prison officials retaliated after the protests by beating and punishing prisoners, in what came to be termed the 'Bathurst Batterings'.
Larger riots in February 1974 caused $
10 million in damage, partially due to a fire started by petrol bombs. As a result of this and other problems, J. F. Nagle of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
was appointed to a royal commission
to oversee reforms to the Australian penal system.
Telephone: (02) 6338 3282
Fax: (02) 6338 3239
Street Address:
Cnr Browning Street and Brookmore Avenue, BATHURST NSW 2795
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
located 3 kilometres west of Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The current structure incorporates buildings constructed in 1888. The Complex serves as a reception prison for western NSW. A minimum-security cellblock, known as X Wing, is located outside the walls of the main part of the gaol.
Riots
In October 1970, prisoners rebelled at the then-titled Bathurst Gaol, as a result of dissatisfaction with their living conditions. Lavatories and sink basins were said to overflow regularly; windows without glass and a lack of central heatingCentral heating
A central heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building from one point to multiple rooms. When combined with other systems in order to control the building climate, the whole system may be a HVAC system.Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation...
meant exposure to the elements. Prisoners spent 18 hours of each day in their cell
Prison cell
A prison cell or holding cell or lock-up is a small room in a prison, or police station where a prisoner is held.Prison cells are usually about 6 by 8 feet in size with steel or brick walls and one solid or barred door that locks from the outside. Many modern prison cells are pre-cast. Solid doors...
s. Prison officials retaliated after the protests by beating and punishing prisoners, in what came to be termed the 'Bathurst Batterings'.
Larger riots in February 1974 caused $
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
10 million in damage, partially due to a fire started by petrol bombs. As a result of this and other problems, J. F. Nagle of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
was appointed to a royal commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
to oversee reforms to the Australian penal system.
Notable prisoners
- Rodney AdlerRodney AdlerRodney Stephens Adler is an Australian businessman and former director of telecommunications company One.Tel and insurance company HIH, both of which collapsed in 2001. He was jailed in 2005 for his conduct related to the collapse of HIH....
, (2006) disgraced businessman - Jim McNeilJim McNeilJames Thomas "Jim" McNeil was an Australian criminal and an award-winning playwright. While serving a 17 year sentence in Parramatta Correctional Centre for armed robbery and shooting a police officer, McNeill began writing plays. Within a few years he was being hailed as one of Australia's three...
(1973–74) violent criminal who became better known as the 'prison playwright'
Contact details
Bathurst Correctional CentreTelephone: (02) 6338 3282
Fax: (02) 6338 3239
Street Address:
Cnr Browning Street and Brookmore Avenue, BATHURST NSW 2795
External links
- Bathurst Correctional Centre webpage - part of the Corrective Services NSW