Hay Gaol

The first Gaol The original gaol at Hay was a police lock-up, located in Lachlan Street on the site of the present Hay Post Office. The lock-up was proclaimed a Public Gaol on 1 December 1870. The gaol initially contained two cells to accommodate prisoners. During 1878, however, there was a large increase in the number of prisoners detained at Hay – 192 entries to the gaol (compared to just nine the year before) and 176 discharges (compared to thirteen previously). As a result, “much needed improvements” were made to the gaol, with the prisoner accommodation being increased by 1879 to four cells. In 1879 there were 173 entries and 175 discharges; and, in 1880, 154 entries and 158 discharges. The large numbers of prisoners detained at Hay from 1878 onwards prompted the Comptroller General of Prisons, Harold Maclean, to approve the building of new gaol facilities, construction of which began in 1879.  When the new gaol in Church Street was ready for occupancy in late 1880 the old Lachlan Street gaol was down-graded to a “Watch-house or Lock-up only”. Hay Gaol – 1880 to 1915 The new Hay Gaol in Church Street was built during 1879-80 by the local building firm of Witcombe Brothers. The perimeter consists of a five-metre-high () wall of locally produced red bricks, with a large central entrance gate (in front of a small barred entrance court). Two guard towers were placed at diagonally opposite corners of the perimeter wall.  The main cell-block contained 12 cells (including two for female prisoners). The cells (apart from two of a larger size) measured 9 feet 9 inches by 10 feet 2 inches, each with cement floors and a galvanised roof. The compound also contained a solitary confinement cell, mess-hall, kitchen, meeting-room and officer's residence. The Hay Gaol was officially opened in late 1880.  A proclamation by the Governor of the Colony of New South Wales dated 21 December 1880 declared the "New Gaol at Hay" to be a "Public Gaol, Prison and House of Correction". A separate notice in the Government Gazette stated that the new gaol "has been appointed a place at which male offenders under order or sentence or sentence of transportation... shall be detained and be liable to be kept to hard labour". A visitor to Hay in early 1881 wrote: "The gaol is a really fine building and deserves mention; it faces one in a most ominous manner on coming into the town from Narrandera". The writer added: "As yet they have not got the hanging apparatus up". Hay Gaol initially operated under the control of the police.  On 17 March 1882, however, the gaol was placed under the administration of its first gaoler, Ghiblim Everett. Everett's wife, Mary Ann, was the matron at the gaol; the remainder of the staff comprised a senior warden and four other wardens. Ghiblim and Mary Ann Everett were at Berrima before coming to Hay, where Ghiblim was chief warder at Berrima Gaol.  The Hay Gaol facility continued mainly to be used to incarcerate comparatively short-term offenders from the surrounding districts.  Ghiblim Everett was an active gardener and during his period as gaoler “he created a garden there which was one of the beauty spots of Hay”.  A vegetable garden at the gaol, maintained by the inmates, supplied fresh produce for prisoners’ meals. It was used mainly for offenders with short sentences, as those imprisoned for long terms were sent to Goulburn Gaol. As the years went on Hay Gaol struggled to remain open, due to a lack of prisoners. From 4 April 1899 the Hay Gaol was under the control of S. J. Nebbett, who took over from D. D'Arcy (previously Chief Clerk at Darlinghurst Gaol).  In April 1899 lights were installed for the first time in all cells at the Hay Gaol, "a privilege highly appreciated by the prisoners, the monotony of the cells being very much relieved by lights and reading".  Library books were issued twice weekly to all well-conducted prisoners, and "also slates and school books if required".  Apparently some sort of rationalisation occurred during 1899, probably in regard to staffing at the gaol: "It was found possible to reduce Hay Gaol, making the sixth Prison [in New South Wales] so dealt with...". By 1915 the gaol had only three prisoners being supervised by a staff of four.  It was costing £582 per year to remain open and the former Governor of Parramatta Gaol, Superintendent O'Connor, deemed that Hay Gaol was "no longer useful".  It was officially closed on 30 June 1915 (though it remained operating until 4 July 1915). Health services use Between the two World Wars, the Gaol buildings met Hay's medical needs. In 1919, during a local outbreak of the worldwide Spanish Flu epidemic, the Gaol was briefly used as an emergency hospital to isolate patients who couldn't be treated at the Hay Hospital. In 1921 Hay's Red Cross Society turned the Gaol into a maternity home. The two rooms at the front entrance became wards, as did the old hospital area. Many older Hay locals enjoy telling the tale that they were "born in the Hay Gaol." Second period out of prison use After the Hay camps were broken up in 1946–7, the Gaol was used intermittently for emergency housing during the 1952 and 1956 floods, and as accommodation for Italian workers in town to build the new sewerage system. The committee made 34 recommendations as a result of the inquiry and recommendation 34 states that heritage centers be constructed on the site of former institutions. In addition to speaking up at the Senate Inquiry, many Hay survivors are starting to return to Hay and the gaol to tell their stories to the local community. A common feeling in the Hay community is one of dismay at the suffering of the girls matched by concern at never really knowing what went on behind the walls of the gaol. A reunion of Hay and Parramatta girls is planned at the Hay Gaol on the weekend of 3–4 March 2007. The weekend includes a professionally developed museum theatre production performed by locals and a haunting sound and light display in the cell block. Museum and Cultural Centre The Gaol and surrounding grounds were reserved for the Preservation of Historic Sites and Buildings by notification in the Government Gazette of 6 June 1975.  It is now a museum and cultural centre and is open every day between 9am and 5pm. == Description ==

The Hay Gaol is an example of James Barnet's Hay-type gaol, a classification defined by JS Kerr in his 1988 book Out of Sight, Out of Mind in which Kerr differentiates Barnet's Hay-type gaol from the more common Braidwood-type gaol design of the previous colonial architect. The main difference between the two designs is that the Hay-type gaol is single-storey and the cells larger than the two-storey Braidwood-type gaol. Other gaols built to the Hay-type pattern were at Young (1876–78), Tamworth (1879–81) and Wentworth (1879–81). Of these buildings; Young was destroyed in a fire, with only the gate house remaining and Tamworth is still in use by the Department of Corrective Services. The Wentworth and Hay sites are open to the public, both are currently museums. Braidwood-type gaols were built at: Braidwood, Albury, Armidale, Mudgee, Grafton, Wagga Wagga, Yass and Deniliquin. Condition The Hay Gaol was reported to be in a deteriorating physical condition as at January 2007. It has many modifications from its original use as a colonial prison but a study of the physical fabric of the site would yield information about the Gaols history of use. Paint scrapings in the cell block to determine the various paint and surfaces of the different eras is considered important to the possible future interpretation of the site. Whilst the Gaol currently functions as a community museum, the Hay Gaol Management Committee has started work on projects interpreting the history of the site. Concrete paths laid by girls at the girls' institution remain in the building fabric as does the girls' laundry box. Objects related to the history of the site, particularly when the Gaol was a girls' institution remain in the Hay Gaol Museum collection as significant objects. The Hay Gaol Museum also holds historical images of the site. The Hay Gaol is in fair condition. The paintwork in the cell block is generally poor and the site has problems with rising damp and white ants. The eastern perimeter wall is considered to be in an unstable condition. At some early stage, part of the isolation block was demolished. After 1974 a large steel shed was added to the rear of the cell block and two large sheds built outside the eastern perimeter wall. These elements are intrusive rather than of heritage significance. Modifications and dates Perimeter walls and watchtowers: • 1961: Catwalk is removed from perimeter walls • 1961: Stays are installed to the exterior of the eastern wall Entranceway – office: • Possibly 1961: Interior of office subdivided to house two small offices and washroom for admitting newly admitted girls. • 2004: Interior subdivisions are removed due to white ant attack and space is established as exhibition space interpreting the history of the site Cell block: • 1896: Two additional cells for female prisoners were added to the cell block • Date unknown: Two original larger cells were halved in size to become the same size as the other cells • Date unknown: Back verandah closed in • 1961: Cells are modified to include simple seat and bench for girls' institution and electricity added to cell block • 1961: Cells are painted and scrubbed by girls for girls' institution • Post 1974: Large shed for housing museum collections was added to the northern end of the cell block • Post 1974: Cells modified to include housing and security for museum exhibits • 2003: Small room used by night staff when the gaol was a girls' institution is dismantled due to white ant attack Services block: • Date unknown: verandah added probably after 1974 Solitary confinement cell: • 1899: Two solitary confinement cells were constructed in the courtyard • Date unknown: The western solitary confinement cell is removed • Pre 1973: A tin structure, including male toilets, is added to the western side of the remaining solitary confinement cell. Gaoler's residence: • 1897: Wash house added to the gaoler's residence Other modifications: • Date unknown: At some stage the underground water tanks in the compound may have been removed. • 1898: Acetylene gas is connected to the kitchen and hospital. • 1899: Gas lighting is installed in all the cells in 1899 • 1930: Gaol connected to town gas and sewerage == Heritage listing ==

The Hay Gaol is of State significance for its aesthetic, rarity and representative values as an example of James Barnet's Hay-type gaol design, and as an example of a Victorian-era country prison that combines foreboding design features (such as its entranceway, perimeter walls, cell block and isolation cell) with vernacular materials. It is furthermore of State significance for its variety of historical functions, associations and social values as a small-scale prison and detention centre. Built as a colonial gaol in 1880 it was later used as a detention and hospitalisation facility servicing Hay's World War II internment and prisoner of war camps (1940 - 1946) and then as a girls' institution run by the NSW Department of Child Welfare (1961 - 1974). Although official records remain unavailable, it is believed that a significant proportion of girls sent to Hay were indigenous "Stolen Generation" children and many survivors from this era have begun visiting the site from all over Australia. It is probably the only building in Australia directly associated with the internment of the Dunera Boys and with the imprisonment of the Japanese prisoners of war (POWs) following the Cowra Breakout in 1944. The Hay Gaol is also of State significance for its research, archaeological and interpretive potential as a site or landscape of segregation, which capitalised on the already isolated geographic position of Hay to provide different forms of incarceration in different periods of history. The Hay Gaol is of local historical and social significance as one of several grand buildings that represent Hay's unfulfilled promise of becoming the capital of the Riverina, for its temporary roles as a maternity hospital (1920 to 1930) and as a site of emergency accommodation during the 1952 and 1956 floods and more recently for its museum collections relating to the social and pastoral history of Hay. As a substantial building complex sited near the centre of the township it is an iconic building in Hay. As one of a network of five vibrant and collaboratively managed museums supported by the Hay Shire Council, the Gaol along with Hay's other museums underpin cultural tourism development in the town and as such are important to supporting and diversifying the local economy. Hay Gaol was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 13 March 2009 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. The Hay Gaol is of State significance for its variety of historical functions as a prison and detention centre. It was built as a colonial prison in 1880 but more significantly was used as a detention and hospitalisation facility servicing Hay's World War II internment and prisoner of war camps (1940 - 1946) and then as a girls' institution run by the NSW Department of Child Welfare (1961 - 1974). The Hay Gaol is of local historical significance as one of several grand buildings that represent Hay's unfulfilled promise of becoming the capital of the Riverina, and for its temporary roles as a maternity hospital (1920 to 1930) and as a site of emergency accommodation during the 1952 and 1956 floods. For its museum collections relating to the social and pastoral history of Hay, the gaol also has local significance. '''The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.''' The Hay Gaol is of State significance for its historical associations. Designed by the prominent NSW Colonial Architect James Barnet, it is probably the only building in Australia directly associated with the internment of the Dunera Boys and with the imprisonment of the Japanese prisoners of war (POWs) following the Cowra Breakout in 1944. The closure of the girls' institution at Hay and associated institution at Parramatta is associated with the lobbying of child welfare activist Bessie Guthrie. The site has local associative significance as one of many buildings constructed by prolific local builders, the Witcombe Brothers. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The Hay Gaol is of State significance for its aesthetic values as an example of James Barnet's Hay-type gaol, a classification defined by JS Kerr in his 1988 book, Out of Sight Out of Mind, in which Kerr differentiates Barnet's Hay-type gaol design from the more common Braidwood-type gaol design of the previous colonial architect. It is a relatively intact example of a Victorian country prison that combines foreboding design features - including its entranceway, perimeter walls, cell block and isolation cell - with vernacular materials. Hay Gaol Museum is a substantial building complex sited near the centre of the township that is an iconic building in Hay. The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The Hay Gaol is of State social significance arising from its use as a girls' institution. Although official records remain unavailable, it is believed that a significant proportion of girls sent to Hay were indigenous "stolen generation" children, who constituted many of NSW's most vulnerable of wards of state. Many survivors from this era have begun returning to the site from all over Australia as part of their healing. The Hay Gaol is also of local significance to the many Hay residents who were born there when it was a maternity hospital and to others who lived there when it was emergency flood housing. The Gaol is also of local significance for its use by the community as a museum and cultural facility. The site is used frequently by school groups as part of the Hay Museum Learning Program. As one of a network of five vibrant and collaboratively managed museums supported by the Hay Shire Council the Gaol and Hay's other museums underpin cultural tourism development in the town and as such are important to supporting and diversifying the local economy. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The Hay Gaol is of State significance for its research, archaeological and interpretive potential as a site or landscape of segregation, which capitalised on the already isolated geographic position of Hay to provide different forms of incarceration in different periods of history. For example, the design of the Gaol combines details reflecting Victorian attitudes towards punishment and detention with vernacular construction features such as locally made bricks. It also displays more recent details remaining from when the site was a girls' institution, including concrete patchwork paths laid by the girls and the laundry box used by the girls. The local history of the site to date has been well documented by the Hay Gaol Management Committee and the Hay Historical Society. Additional information about the site's past as a girls' institution is coming to light as survivors start to speak out and return to Hay. It is understood that an examination of government records relating to the site as a girls' institution, when they come available, will yield important information. Likewise a detailed examination of government records relating to the use of the site as an internment camp during World War II will also present new information. Future studies may chronicle the changes to the complex over time and the different ways in which the physical isolation of the town, surrounded by the Hay Plains, added to the segregation effects of the gaol. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The Hay Gaol is of State significance for its rarity as one of only three surviving Hay-type gaols designed by Barnet (of these, Wentworth Gaol has also been converted to a local museum while Tamworth Gaol is still in use by the Department of Corrective Services). The Braidwood-type design of the previous colonial architect was a much more common country gaol design. The Hay Gaol Museum may be found to be of State significance as it is possibly one of only a few substantial buildings remaining statewide relating to the network of World War II Internment and prisoner of war camps in NSW. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. The Hay Gaol is of State significance as a relatively intact example of James Barnet's "Hay-type" gaol. This classification, defined by JS Kerr in his 1988 book Out of Sight Out of Mind, is differentiated from the more common Braidwood-type gaol design of the previous colonial architect. It is additionally representative of a particularly harsh response by the NSW Child Welfare Department to the incarceration of young girls. ==See also==