© BRGHS 2010

 

Prison labour was a concept that gained popularity with the authorities in the late 19th century. Prior to this time, prisoners were made to work outside on new roads or land clearing, or were confined to their cells picking oakum, a fine thread obtained by picking apart old ropes. An 1868 inquiry into Queensland prisons recommended that prisoners could be employed in such work as shoemaking, baking and tailoring to provide the food and clothes for prisons. The lack of facilities at most gaols was a problem, but in later years workshops were designed into new gaols. The Boggo Road women's prison had a three-storey workshop in what later became D Wing. By this time the reformative value of teaching prisoner skills that could be used upon their release had been recognised, and it was also noted that they were generally more content when employed. The division of labour in the society outside the Boggo Road walls was replicated inside those walls, and the women were made to cook, sew, clean and wash. This included making prison uniforms and institutional clothing. Such industry created a lot of income for the prison. Among other work, the Boggo Road men were engaged in mat-making, which was a very profitable enterprise for the gaol.

Sewing, Brisbane Prison, ca. 1913 (John Oxley Library, #33783) Matmaking, Brisbane Prison (Brisbane City Council, B120-30783)

 

© BRGHS 2010

 

When the first gaol was built at Boggo Road in 1883, the authorities thought that the high brick walls and watchtowers would be enough to prevent escapes. They thought wrong. There were upwards of 200 escapes and attempted escapes during 1883 and 2000 (see tables below), some mundane and some dramatic. The percentage of inmates who escaped, however, was always very small, and most were recaptured within a short space of time. Did anyone ever really escape from Boggo Road Gaol? There is only one case where it could be argued that someone did. Percy Lee was spirited away in a car waiting outside the gaol in 1926, and if he had not been arrested for robbery in New Zealand the following year he would never have been heard of again. Some prisoners were more persistent than others. While Slim Halliday may have been called the 'Houdini of Boggo Road' in the 1850s, there were some in the 1980s prison who tried to escape three or four times and often succeeded. The newspapers consistently berated the state of affairs at Boggo Road that allowed the escapes to happen in the first place. Prison officers, bosses and the gaol itself were often unfairly criticized in the press, a practice that reached fever pitch during the 1980s and eventually led to the closure of the gaol. Although many Boggo Road prisoners went over the wall or through the gates, every single one of them was eventually caught and saw the inside of a cell again– if they were not killed. Some were out for minutes, and some were out for months, but it is arguable if they were ever really free at all, because for an escaped prisoner the whole outside world becomes a prison in which they must constantly look over their shoulder. There can never be total freedom for a hunted escapee.

The rope used in a 1991 escape from the new No.1 Division

Escape statistics

The following statistics are based on the records compiled by the BRGHS. They should in no way be viewed as complete, as new information is still coming to light as our researchers continue their work. Providing separate figures for escapes and attempted escapes is difficult, as some of the available information is vague at best, but these statistics will give an overall idea of how the different Boggo Road prison buildings fared.

 

Escapes

Location	Gender	no. of incidents	No. of people involved
No.1 Division (from inside)	M	8	8
No.1 Division (working outside)	M	5	5
No.2 Division	M	3	5
Women's <1954	F	1	1
Women's   1954-1982	F	4	5
Women's   1982-2000	F	4	4
No.3 Division	M	4	5
Hospitals	M	19	20
Hospitals	F	2	2
Under escort(courts, funerals, etc)	M	9	13
New No.1	M	11	33
Unknown*	M	6	7
Totals	M	65	96
	F	11	12
Overall total		76	108

 

Attempted Escapes

Location	Gender	No. of incidents	No. of people involved
No.1 Division	M	3	4
No.2 Division	M	7	18
Women's (up to 1954)	F	1	2
Women's (1954-82)	F
Women's (1982-2000)	F
Hospitals	M	1	1
Under escort	M	1	1
New No.1	M	9	24
Unknown	M	9	9
Unknown	unknown	3	3
Totals	M	29	56
	F	1	2
	Unknown	4	4
Overall total		34	62

 

Unknown if incident was escape or attempted escape

Location	Gender	No. of incidents	No. of people involved
Unknown	M	10	10
Unknown	F	4	4
Unknown	unknown	7	7
From hospital	M	1	1
Under escort	unknown	3	3
Totals		24	24

 

Failed to return from 'Return to Work' or 'Leave of
Absence', or failed to report for 'Weekend detention'

Total - 241 people (M+F).

 

Inside History publications on this subject

	Last Prison Standing: A short history of Boggo Road’s No.2 Division 1903-89
	The Houdini of Boggo Road:The Life and Escapades of Slim Halliday
	Escaping Boggo Road

 

© BRGHS 2010

 

Hangings at Boggo Road A total of 42 people were hanged at the Boggo Road gaol during 1883 -1913. They came from all around the world - Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Australia. Many faiths were represented, including Catholic, Muslim, Lutheran, Buddhist, Anglican, Salvation Army and 'Pagan' (mostly Aboriginal and Chinese prisoners). Some of these people were guilty of calculated crimes, and some killed in passion. Some claimed that they were drunk, and others claimed insanity. Some killed for money, and some killed for love. At least seven of them protested their innocence to the last. All of these hangings took place at the now-demolished No.1 Division. The gallows were built inside a cellblock, with a trapdoor on the first floor. The last hanging took place in 1913, and in 1922 Queensland became the first part of the British Empire to abolish capital punishment. According to Brisbane City Council records, all the executed prisoners were buried in South Brisbane Cemetery. All but one of these (Patrick Kenniff) had unmarked graves. Right: A Wing, Boggo Road, ca.1915. The trapdoor was on the first floor walkway, and the gallows beam was just just underneath the upper walkway (image: 'Report of the Comptroller-General for the Year 1915').
The story of Sotulo (Extract from 'A Pit of Shame') Executed on Monday 22 June 1903 at 8 a.m. Origins: Malaita Island, South Pacific Year of birth: 1875 Arrival in state: 1902 Religion: Pagan* Education: Nil* Occupation: Cane cutter Height: 166cm Weight: 62kg Place of trial: Mackay Offence: Murder Location of offence: Mackay * As described in police records One afternoon in March 1903, Sergeant David Johnston was on his shift at the Mackay lock-up when he saw prisoners running in panic. One of them told him that another prisoner, Sotulo, had split the head of another prisoner with a firewood axe. Johnston rushed into the yard, and leaned over the dead body of the prisoner there. As he paused, Sotulo ran out with the axe and killed him in a frenzied attack. The 27 year-old Sotulo had been employed as a cane cutter on a plantation near Mackay. While working there he was arrested for murdering 12 year-old Alice Gunning. She had been riding home alone from morning Mass when Sotulo approached her on the roadside, making what the press reported as "improper proposals". She insulted him, and he angrily threw a large rock that struck her head and left her unconscious.
He dragged Alice into the scrub before smashing in her skull in with a larger rock. He left the scene after this, and when her horse returned home alone a search of the area was begun. Alice's body was found that evening. Sotulo came under suspicion after he was reported as being missing from work. A few mornings later the police caught up with him and arrested him. Wearing bloodstained clothes, he confessed to the crime and was taken to the Mackay lock-up, where he committed the double murder. When he eventually received the death sentence it was not for the murder of Alice, but the two murders he had committed in the lock-up waiting for trial. He was asked if he had anything to say before the sentence was passed, and the press reported that: ... The prisoner said he would like to see his brother and sister at the island. He was tired of Mackay, and wanted to go immediately to Brisbane by the mail boat and get hanged. He said he had been kept too long, and wanted to die. He got his wish, and shortly found himself in the condemned cell at Boggo Road. While there, he confessed to the Anglican chaplain that he had killed another six people in Malaita before arriving in Australia – making a total of nine murders. If true, this would make him the most prolific killer to be hanged at the gaol. The Truth newspaper reported his last moments on the gallows in a rather business-like manner: The noose was quickly settled about his bare throat, and then the little white bag was pulled over his head. It was too small for the condemned man’s head, but the length of the shield enabled it to cover the face effectively, and it was no sooner fastened than the Sheriff gave the signal, the hangman stretched forth his brawny arm, seized the lever, pushed it forward, and all that was mortal of Sow To Low tumbled through the trapdoor. He came up with a jerk, and then his knees drew up to his breast convulsively twice, after which they stiffened out, and the body swung gently to-and-fro in the slight breeze from the open door. He hung 15 minutes and then was lowered into the coffin and carted away.

The 42 people hanged at Boggo Road

Name	Year of birth	Year of death	Place of origin
James Gardiner	1864	1883	Scotland
Jango	c.1866	1883	Aboriginal
George	1858	1883	Aboriginal
Walter Edward Gordon	1857	1885	England
Tim Tie	1856	1886	China
Wong Tong	1857	1886	China
Christopher Pickford	1856	1887	England
Ellen Thompson	1846	1887	Ireland
John Harrison	1860	1887	England
Edmond Duhamel	1851	1888	France
Sedin	1864	1888	Java
Donald	c.1863	1892	Aboriginal
Francis Charles Horrocks	1875	1892	Queensland
George Gleeson	1865	1892	India
Leonard William Moncado	1850	1892	Chile
George Thomas Blantern	1858	1893	England
Hatsuro Abe	1863	1894	Japan
Mi Orie	1866	1895	Malaita Island
Narasemai	1862	1895	Malaita Island
Sayer (Safhour)	1870	1895	Malaita Island
Jacky	1864	1895	Aboriginal
Frank Tinyana	1858	1895	Filipino
Willie Broom	1870	1900	Aboriginal
Charles Beckman	1859	1901	Germany
Wandee	1881	1901	South Sea Islands
John Rheuben	1846	1901	Portugal
Arafau	1879	1901	South Sea Islands
David Alexander Brown	1846	1901	USA
Patrick Kenniff	1865	1903	NSW
Sow Too Low	1875	1903	Malaita Island
Gosano	1870	1905	South Sea Islands
James Warton	1845	1905	Ireland
Johannes	1867	1906	Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Twadiga	1876	1906	Solomon Islands
Look Kow	1844	1906	China
August Millewski	1855	1907	Germany
Bismarck	1886	1909	Aboriginal
Arthur Ross	1888	1909	England
Alexander Bradshaw	1882	1910	Queensland
George David Silva	1884	1912	Queensland/Ceylon
Charles Deen	1865	1913	Ceylon
Ernest Austin	1890	1913	Victoria

 

© BRGHS 2010

 

The No.2 Division at Boggo Road opened as a historical site in October 1992, following the closure of the neighbouring No.1 Division. The first curator was Faye Smith, and then ex-officer Don Walters later took over the job under the supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency. During the first ten years a significant collection of Boggo Road-related artefacts was collected and catalogued, and this collection is now controlled by the Queensland Museum.

The National Trust and a group called the 'Friends of Boggo Road' played an important role in maintaining and promoting the site during the 1990s by organizing open days and producing site interpretation material such as booklets, CD-ROMs and displays. By the late 1990s several ex-officers became involved in running the place, including doing guided tours and eventually forming the non-profit Boggo Road Gaol Museum. Until 2003 the BRGM was able to donate thousands of dollars to various charities.

Without these original volunteers turning up on a near-daily basis, the gaol gates would have been closed to the public. Their hard work and dedication enabled the public and businesses to visit and use the site, and all who did so owe them a debt of gratitude. Occasional school tours began in 1992 and became increasingly popular over time, getting to the point where tens of thousands of Queensland schoolchildren were visiting the museum each year. The place also proved extremely popular with Seniors groups. Apart from day tours, the site also hosted various night tour activities such as sleepovers and 'ghost tours'. The gaol also became a popular venue for functions such as birthday parties, workplace end-of-year functions, corporate training days, charity events, and has even hosted several weddings. By 2003 the success of the BRGM was such that there were enough volunteers to form an incorporated association (the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society). The BRGM closed in late 2005 when redevelopment of the surrounding land began. Left: Volunteers of the Boggo Road Gaol Museum, ca.2002

© BRGHS 2010

 

Artefacts from Boggo Road and other Queensland prisons have been collected for a number of years. Many, however, were thrown away or sold when the prison closed. What did survive was incorporated into the Environmental Protection Agency collection, which was assembled during 1992-2002. Some 380 artefacts associated with the gaol site were registered during this time, and used to form displays at the museum. The artefacts included:

• improvised weapons, escape tools, tattoo machines and drug implements confiscated from prisoners
• historical records
• prisoner art and craft work
• photographs
• clothing
• furniture and fittings

This prison-issued playing card warns of the dangers of home-made tattoo machines. (BRGHS collection)
		Improvised electric jug (Queensland Museum, #H45725)	Escape rope with grappling hook (QM, #H45667)
		Following the retirement of BRGM curator Don Walters in 2002, many items were found on-site that had not been registered because they were either not associated with Boggo Road or their provenance was unknown; they were duplicates of other artefacts; or the EPA had not fully registered certain groups of artefacts (such as books). As these artefacts faced deterioration and possible loss at a time when no government agency was curating the collection, they were recorded in an interim register. Rather than being an assertion of ownership of the artefacts, this was a way of recording their existence prior to their future transfer into a government collection. It also allowed for a basic level of care, and BRGHS volunteers carefully registered, tagged and stored all on-site artefacts over several months.

Following extensive assessment and recording of the collection by Antcap Consultants, the Queensland Museum and a Public Works consultant, ownership of a large part of the collection was transferred from EPA to Queensland Museum in 2003/04 and moved off site. The remaining items now form part of a permanent BRGHS collection.

© BRGHS 2010

 

In early Brisbane, the area south of the river beyond Clarence Corner (One-mile Swamp) had a dirt track winding over a hill towards the Yeronga area. This was one of the main arteries of the town, being the cattle-droving track between Brisbane and Ipswich. From the 1840s on, the area beside the length of the road became known as Boggo. In 1862 Boggo was described as being 'three miles from South Brisbane, past the One-Mile Swamp, and then turn to the right'. The ridges beside the road were prominent Aboriginal campsites.

It has been suggested that Boggo is a corruption of the Aboriginal word Bloggo meaning 'two leaning trees', and that the area originally received this name because of the presence of two prominent trees at One-Mile Swamp. It has also been claimed that the area was known as Bolgo. The fact that parts of the area were boggy swamps, impassable with a horse and cart in bad weather, would have encouraged the use of Boggo. 'Boghole' is also said to be an early derogatory term used for the swampy road.

Apart from the road itself, other landmarks bearing the name Boggo included Boggo Junction railway station (1884), the Boggo Theatre (1888) and the Boggo National School (1871). The Boggo National School became Yeronga State School in 1886, the Boggo Theatre eventually became the Princess Theatre, Boggo Road was renamed Annerley Road in 1905, and Boggo Junction became Dutton Park railway station in 1914. To the locals, however, the prison has always retained the colloquial name of Boggo Road Gaol.

(Gaol is an old British word, derived from the French, while Jail is the Americanised version.)

Inside History publications on this subject

Absolute Fairyland: Heady Days in Dutton Park
Christopher Dawson (2006) RRP $8

Boggo Road Heritage Walk
Christopher Dawson (2007) RRP $4

The One & Only Boggo Road: The history of a unique suburban street
Christopher Dawson (2008) RRP $8

© BRGHS 2010

 

The end of the road

The 1980s was the most turbulent decade in the history of Boggo Road Gaol, as riots, mass escapes, hunger strikes, drugs, staff strikes, murders, suicides and bashings became a regular part of the news. There was a steady stream of mass escapes from the new 1 Division involving three or more prisoners, and local newspapers stirred up community discontent over prison security. The 1980s also proved to be a particularly turbulent decade for prisoner and staff unrest, and although much of the trouble was centred in 1 Division, it often spread throughout the whole complex.

1982
Prison officers went on strike for better working conditions. 100 police and a few non-strikers staffed the prison for just over a week.

November 1983
A mass hunger strike took place as prisoners complained about inadequate food and 'harsh conditions'. This escalated into a riot during whcih prisoners took over the Industrial Division for 24 hours. One third of the gaol, including 129 cells, were left in ruins and uninhabitable for six months.

1984
An internal report acknowledged that 2 Division did not comply with the United Nations minimum standards for prisons.

December 1986
Six months after another hunger strike took place, there was a major riot in 2 Division when prisoners lit fires and mounted the roof of F Wing to draw attention to their allegations of brutality and arbitrary discipline.

November 1987
Sensational allegations were made that militant Aboriginal prisoners intended to smuggle rifles into Boggo Road and take over the prison at the start of World Expo '88 (held in Brisbane). Several prisoners were locked in the then-disused 'black holes' - a decision described as "abhorrent and barbaric" by the Human Rights Commission - and in response 200 prisoners rioted in 1 and 2 Divisions.

February 1988
In a continuation of the troubles sparked a few months earlier, five prisoners mounted the roof of F Wing in a week-long protest to call for the closure of No.2 Division. They painted demands for justice and a public inquiry on the roof before beginning a hunger strike. The exhausted men were eventually taken down off the roof with the aid of a fire engine.

1988
350 prison officers went on strike after a near riot. Police erected barricades around 2 Division, which was subsequently staffed by 35 police officers and a Tactical Response Squad.

The Kennedy Report

By 1988 the Queensland prison system, and Boggo Road in particular, was a mess. The newspapers lampooned the state of affairs at Boggo Road , and the Corrective Services chairman said:

"Boggo Road - which is 106 years old - is not a good design with a wall and circular ovals. These jails are being demolished everywhere else around the world or being promoted as tourist ventures."

The controversial 'Commission of Review into Corrective Services in Queensland' was launched to find out what was going wrong and how it could be fixed. Written by Commissioner Jim Kennedy, the final report became known as the 'Kennedy Report' and it spelled the end for Boggo Road.

"Boggo Road is a relic, a reminder of an era gone by. It is behind the times by at least 80 years. And then there is the new breed of prisoner - which I would call the desperadoes."

(Corrective Services Commission chairman Jim Kennedy, 1989)

The report stated that "Boggo Road Prison is a relic of the last century and is hopelessly inadequate to provide corrective services today", and that the Prisons Act was outdated, drugs were entering prisons due to lax security, corruption was rife, officer training was poor, prisoners were not being rehabilitated, and the system was underfunded.

It was recommended that the Boggo Road prison be demolished. In response to this report, 2 Division was decommissioned in November 1989 and subsequently closed, with the inmates being transferred to other prisons around Queensland.

 

© BRGHS 2010

 

Who were they?

Many of the early female inmates at Boggo Road could best be described as 'victims of adverse circumstance'. Many were prostitutes, being single women with no other means of support. The kinds of offences that they were imprisoned for included:

Vagrancy Drunkenness Obscene language Indecent behaviour Creating a disturbance Attempted abortion Attempted suicide Stealing Escape from the Lock Hospital (where women with veneral diseases were confined) Some had mental health problems and were sent to prison due to as lack of more appropriate detainment. Most had multiple convictions. Almost all were working class.

Margaret Blessington
Margaret Blessington was a Brisbane woman who emigrated from England in 1874 as an infant. She had spent a lot of time in the women's gaols at Toowoomba and Fortitude Valley before arriving at Boggo Road in 1903. She served many short sentences at Boggo Road for drunkenness, obscene language and indecency (code for prostitution), reaching 69 convictions before being sent to Goodna Mental Asylum in 1910. She lived an institutionalized life until 1957, when she died in Dalby Jubilee Hospital, aged 86.

Mary Rittler
Mary Rittler was a domestic servant who was first admitted to the prison as a 20 year-old in December 1909. She was frequently admitted over the next four years on charges of stealing, assaulting police, and 'going armed in public so as to cause fear'. Her sentences were often extended with hard labour because of breaches of prison rules, including assault and insubordination.

Annie Campbell (alias Emma Spay) Annie Campbell, described as "a small, middle-aged woman with a small face and scanty brown locks" was gaoled for twelve months in March 1911 for 'uttering a false document' - she had tried to cash three false cheques. Formerly a widow, she had remarried just two months before. Unfortunately, when 41-year-old Annie entered Boggo Road Gaol she was pregnant. In August, feeling weak and in poor health, she showed signs of being in labour and was taken to Lady Bowen Hospital. After a long labour she gave birth to a stillborn baby. Three days later Annie herself died.The official cause of death was listed as "Alcoholism, Cirrhosis of Liver and general debility. There were no suspicious circumstances."

 

Condemned to Die

Not all the women held at Boggo Road were on short sentences. Some were sent here to die. The only Queensland woman ever actually hanged was Ellen Thompson in 1887. This was in the days before there was a women's prison at Boggo Road, so she had been housed and hanged in the old No.1 Division men's prison. No hangings ever took place in No.2 Division, but three women were held here under sentence of death. All three sentences were commuted. One of the cells in B Wing (now E wing) was converted into a condemned cell by removing and refixing a cell door onto the outside and adding a locked grill gate to allow better observation.

Florence Alma Macdonald
The most infamous female prisoner in early Boggo Road was Florence Macdonald. By the normal standards of the day, she and her husband should have been hanged for the cruel death of her stepdaughter, but her death sentence was commuted.

Amelia Linke Linke was the second condemned woman to be held at Boggo Road. A young unmarried mother, she was sentenced to death in April 1906 for the wilful murder of her infant son. She had smothered the baby in a paddock at Fernvale, near Ipswich . She had intended to commit suicide afterwards but lost heart. She was granted clemency on account of her 'unsound mind', and was finally released in August 1908 after spending time at Goodna Mental Asylum.

Agnes Baker

At age 16, Baker became the third and last condemned woman to serve time at Boggo Road. She was sentenced at Townsville in November 1917 for shooting her father at the family cane farm near Proserpine. Her death sentence was commuted to two years hard labour, and she was released on a good behaviour bond in December 1917.

 

Life in the Women's Prison

Upon arrival, the prisoners had to change out of their street clothes and take a hot bath. Their clothes were then searched, fumigated and laundered, and kept in labelled bags in the storeroom. This was done to keep diseases from entering the prison. Personal details were then recorded, including photographs, weight and height, and fingerprints, along with information about the prisoner’s sentence and criminal record.

The cells in what is now E Wing originally had canvas hammocks, while those in F Wing had plank bedsteads and fibre mattresses. In the corner was a tin quart pot, a lidded toilet tub, grey branded blanket, a pillow and a coir mat. The cells had no heating in winter, and electric lights were not installed in the cells until 1912.

The daily routine of life in the women's prison was signalled by the prison bell.

5:50am	Wake-up bell (ten tolls) summoning prisoners to fold up hammocks and blankets.
6:30am	Cells unlocked and prisoners marched out of their cells to the sanitary yard to empty their night tubs. Baths were once a week.
7:00am	Muster and roll call in the yards before breakfast. Roll call was by prisoner's numbers rather than names.
8:10am	Second muster and roll call, then prisoners were sent on to work.
10:00am	Superintendent made his daily round and awarded punishments.
11:50am	Dinner muster and roll call in the yards.
12 noon	Dinner eaten in the yards, compromising: meat, potatoes and water.
1:10pm	Another roll call, then prisoners returned to their workplaces.
4:00pm	Work ceased, then prisoners allowed in exercise yards.
4:15pm	Supper eaten in yards, made up of the same rations as for breakfast.
5:00pm	Final muster and roll call, prisoners locked in cells and searched.
8:00pm	Electric lights (installed in 1912) switched off.

Female prisoners at work in the Boggo Road gaol bakery, 1903
(JOL #33842)

There was no work on Sundays and Saturday afternoons and the prisoners were allowed to spend more time in the yards.

The prisoner's uniforms were numbered and branded, and a badge worn on the right arm of the garment indicated what class of prisoner they were. There were two uniforms - one for summer and one for winter:

Summer:

1 dress of blue and white stripes
1 petticoat of the above
1 pair coarse white stockings
1 white linen apron
1 white linen mob-cap with strings for tying under the chin
1 pair lace up leather boots
1 calico nightdress
Unbleached calico underclothing
1 navy and white cotton neck scarf
1 cabbage tree hat for outdoor wear

In winter the summer uniform was supplemented with one dress and jacket of brown woollen cotton drill serge, and one brown woollen petticoat. Most of the clothes were made at the prison itself, except for the boots which were made at St. Helena. The prisoners were also issued with a comb, soap, spoon and a towel.

The women had to have a regulation hair style, with the back hair divided from the front and coiled up in a knot at the back of the head. The front hair was parted down the middle and worn off the face. Sometimes the prisoner's hair was cut on account of vermin or dirt.

© BRGHS 2010

 

Arthur 'Slim' Halliday	Florence MacDonald	John Stuart & Jim Finch	Patrick Kenniff	Nathan Jones

 

 

We are currently adding to this page. Please contact us if you have any suggestions for inclusion.

© BRGHS 2010

Arthur 'Slim' Halliday

Arthur 'Slim' Halliday rose to prominence in the 1940s by becoming Boggo Road’s most persistent and infamous escape artist. For sheer variety of methods, no one else matched him. During his prison career he made six known escape attempts, two of which were successful. He was sent to Boggo Road in 1939 to serve a five-year sentence for house-breaking. As it turned out, he got into so much trouble at the prison he ended up serving ten years!

His first escape from 2 Division happened in January 1940, when he scaled the roof of the new workshop and threw a rope over a blindspot in the prison wall. The spot he escaped from was to become known as 'Halliday's Leap'. A massive police search took two weeks to locate him, and he was captured after a high-speed car chase through Caboolture. In December 1946 he went over the wall at 'Halliday's Leap' again, this time with another two prisoners, sparking one of the biggest manhunts in Queensland’s history. Halliday and one of his accomplices were captured four days after the escape, hiding in the mangroves near Nundah Creek. The third man was caught shortly afterwards. He was released in 1949, but was sent back to Boggo Road in 1952 for the murder of taxi driver Athol McGowan. He tried to escape through the roof of the workshop in 1953 after setting fire to mattresses, but was overcome by smoke. In 1959 he was caught loose in a cellblock after ingeniously bending open his cell door with an improvised pulley system. After this attempt he was confined under special restrictions, being constantly watched and strip searched. He was eventually released in the late 1970s, and died in 1987. Right: Arthur Halliday

 

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© BRGHS 2010

Patrick Kenniff

The trial of the Kenniff brothers in Brisbane during 1902 caused some of the most dramatic controversy seen in the debate around capital punishment. The whole event galvanised support within the Labor Party for the abolition of capital punishment, and was to be a major factor in Queensland eventually abolishing hanging.

Patrick and James Kenniff, who both had long criminal records, were charged with the murder of Constable George Doyle and a station manager called Alfred Dahlke in the Roma district. The remains of the victims were found in horses saddlebags, burnt to ashes. The Kenniffs were the main suspects, and they took to the bush. It took the police over two months to capture them in what was the largest operation of its kind since the pursuit of the Kelly Gang a quarter of a century earlier. The Kenniffs had a lot of public support, especially in the country regions where some people saw the Kenniffs as being victims of hard times, and thought of them as 'comrades in distress'. When the Kenniffs were brought to Brisbane, a huge crowd of sightseers gathered at Roma Street Station to see them. Left: Patrick Kenniff, 1902

Public concern was further aroused when the Kenniffs were tried in Brisbane instead of Roma, by a special jury of four instead of a common jury of 12, and the Chief Justice was felt to show bias against the brothers. Against this backdrop, the Kenniff trial was imbued with images of class tensions. In one scene during the trial, the Kenniffs were being removed from the police court to the Boggo Road prison van when the assembled crowd began cheering for them.

In court it was argued that the Kenniffs had shot the men after a confrontation in the bush, and then burned the bodies. Although a tracker who had been with the murdered men saw the Kenniffs riding from the murder scene, no-one had seen the act itself. There was genuine shock when both brothers later received the death sentence. Supporters of the Kenniffs believed that the case for wilful murder had been built on circumstantial evidence. After appeals and petitions against the sentences, James Kenniff's death sentence was commuted to life in late December, but Patrick was still to hang. This only divided public opinion further, and two days before the execution a crowd of over 4000 people attended a rally in Brisbane, where speakers denounced the impending hanging.

On the morning of the execution up to 700 people had gathered outside the gaol before the hanging, and they saw the public executioner arrive at Boggo Road disguised in a black beard and darkened spectacles. Kenniff received the Holy Sacrament of Communion from the Rev. Father Baldwin, and walked firmly to the gallows. The last words of Pat Kenniff, as reported by The Truth, were:

"Well, I have to tell you, as I told you before twice, that I am an innocent man, and I call upon God as my witness on the spot as I stand here, that I am an innocent man. I am as innocent as the Judge that sentenced me for the crime that I am here today for. I must thank the warders for their kindness towards me, and to my well-wishing friends, I say good-bye to you all." Finally, in a lowered voice, he said "May God have mercy on my soul!"

Afterwards, the huge funeral procession consisted of 60 vehicles, 26 flower wreaths and 400 people on foot. By the time the cortege reached the cemetery the attendance was estimated at more than 1000 people. It was the biggest funeral ever held for an executed person in Queensland. His family were given permission to erect a wooden grave marker, later to be replaced with a concrete headstone, making his the only original marked grave of the 42 people executed at Boggo Road. The Rev. Father Baldwin conducted an "intensely solemn and earnest" Catholic service by the graveside.

The scene at Kenniff's execution The hangman is disguised with dark glasses and a false beard. (Truth, 18 January 1903)	Patrick Kenniff's grave, South Brisbane Cemetery(BRGHS 2004)

James Kenniff was sent to St. Helena and later Boggo Road. He was released in 1914 and spent the remainder of his life working as a stockman and a miner. He died in 1940.

 

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© BRGHS 2010

 Florence Alma MacDonald

The most infamous female prisoner in early Boggo Road was Florence Macdonald. By the normal standards of the day, she and her husband should have been hanged for their horrendous crime, but her death sentence was commuted.

The victim was her 12-year-old stepchild Grace MacDonald, a happy, intelligent child. In 1904 she had been living in Melbourne with her aunt following the death of her mother, and was excited when her father, Angus, sent for her to join him and his new wife Florence on their pastoral station near Longreach. Although she had looked forward to station life, she found herself working from dawn to dusk, sleeping on the floor, eating with the dogs, having no warm clothes in winter, and being viciously beaten. By the end of the year she was dead. The doctor could not believe what he saw. She appeared to have been starved, she had broken ribs and a wrist, bones were protruding from her right arm and large pieces of skin had been torn from parts of her body. Large sores showed that she had crawled around on her hands and knees, too weak to walk.

Angus and Florence were charged with murder. They said Grace was a liar and a thief, and had deserved her punishment. The trial, in Rockhampton, aroused massive public interest, and they were both found guiltyand sentenced to death. Neither of them ever expressed any remorse for the death of little Grace, who had become known to the public as the "Longreach Cinderella". The Full Court upheld their sentence, but days later their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. There was a fierce backlash from the public, and it was believed that Angus had used friends in high places to gain political influence. Angus served his term at St. Helena Island. Inside Boggo Road gaol, Florence was noted to be a model prisoner and devoted Christian. She was eventually discharged in December 1916.   Right: Florence Alma MacDonald

 

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John Andrew Stuart and Jim Finch

Double Trouble

In 1973 John Andrew Stuart and Jim Finch were sentenced to life for firebombing the 'Whiskey au Go Go' nightclub in Brisbane. Five gallons of petrol were ignited in the foyer of the packed Fortitude Valley club. In the panic that followed, 15 people were killed. At the time it was Australia's worst-ever mass murder.

John Andrew Stuart Jim Finch

Stuart and Finch were both violent men and had spent most of their adult lives embroiled in gangland feuds over rich prostitution and gambling rackets in the south. They claimed that they had been framed for the murders, and their protests of innocence were incredible, as were their attempts to delay the trial. They went on to become two of the most notorious prisoners in the history of Boggo Road Gaol. While in prison, Stuart and Finch desperately tried to convince everyone that they were innocent. At one time Stuart silently sewed his lips together with a paper clip. On other occasions he ate wire crosses and nails that lodged in his gut. This inspired other prisoners to do the same. He even climbed up on the roof of A Wing for three days, and pulled out hundreds of bricks with his bare hands to spell out the words; 'INNOCENT - VICTIM OF POLICE VERBAL' His actions sparked riots and won him widespread support inside and outside the prison, but he was never released. Stuart died alone in his cell on New Years Day 1979, from a heart infection. He had been on hunger strike. Finch was a fitness fanatic and was known as 'The Chinaman' because he would jog with two buckets of water suspended from each end of a prison mop over his shoulders. He later settled down to become a supposedly 'model' prisoner, although he was still regarded as a violent thug by some inside Boggo Road. He began keeping birds and later became known as 'The Birdman of Boggo Road'. He wrote a lot of letters and drummed up support for his release, and even got married in prison. In 1988 he was deported to his native England, where his wife soon became aware of his violent side and left after a few months. Finch later admitted his guilt in the Whiskey au Go Go case to a journalist - before changing his story again. Jim Finch also made memorable protests, including a 35-day hunger strike. His most famous stunt was to have the top of one of his fingers cut off at the same time as swallowing a wire cross. He falsely claimed that he bit the finger off himself. Back to Famous Prisoners menu

© BRGHS 2010

 

Court-ordered floggings were an occasional feature of life at Brisbane prisons in the 19th century, and received detailed coverage in newspapers. They were carried out with a ‘cat o’ nine tails’ by whoever was employed as the hangman at the time. The longer title of this position was ‘Public Executioner and Scourger’. John Hatton, Queensland hangman 1862-85, refused to perform floggings until he received a pay rise and was allowed to wear a mask during the act, because of his fear that the people he flogged would be able to seek revenge on him one day (unlike those that he had executed). His fears were realised one day when a St. Helena prisoner that he had flogged turned up at Hatton‘s Roma Street shop and threatened him, although nothing became of this. In the early years of Boggo Road, prisoners were strapped to a timber A-frame for the punishment. In later years a bend-over frame was used, and we have a replica of one of these in the collection. Some prisoners seemed to take flogging better than others, remaining silent throughout and reportedly ‘dancing a jig’ afterwards, while others screamed for mercy and had to be carried back to their cell at the end. It could also be hard on the cat o’ nine tails itself, which often became so soaked with blood that the knots in the leather cords became loose and the ‘cat’ had to be replaced mid-flogging.

Flogging of Leisner and Yen, 1886

Flogging of Carmichael et al (1), 1885

Flogging of Carmichael et al (2), 1885

Flogging of Carmichael (3), 1886

© BRGHS 2010

 

Were bodies ever buried at Boggo Road?

A Grave Mystery

Boggo Road made the news in 2003 when ex-officers came forward with stories of gravesites in the grounds of the now-demolished No.1 Division.

In the mid-1970s an exercise yard in the new No.1 Division was being excavated to lay some sewerage pipes down. The earth mover was digging a trench when three officers on duty at the time noticed a line of circular patterns in the walls of the trench. One of the officers recalled seeing twelve ‘dark patches’ in the side of the trench, all of them about 45cm below the surface, 30-40cm in diameter, and 60cm apart. Another witnessed only four patches, which were light grey in colour as opposed to the more naturally-coloured soil surrounding them.

The area where they saw these patches was the same one that, according to earlier stories, was supposed to have once been a burial ground. It was near what had once been the north-eastern side of the first No.1 Division, built in 1883. This was not far from the original Superintendent's House, and older ex-officers recalled seeing white crosses painted on the outside of the prison wall there. For a while a superintendent’s wife maintained a garden near to this area, and the officers used to joke with her about not gardening too close to the graves in case she dug up a skull.

When the 1970s officers reported what they had seen, the prison authorities informed them that, ‘all bodies were reinterred to Dutton Park’, indicating that on-site burials actually had taken place at some point. They were also ordered to keep quiet about the incident. One of the officers, however, took some samples from the patches, which he described as being " very gooey... like wet clay". These samples were stored for 30 years before being subjected to forensic testing at the University of Queensland in 2003. Their tests discovered microscopic bone fragments of Caucasians, and degraded DNA sequences.The report concluded that the DNA was either from the remains of at least two individuals buried at the site, or from more recent contamination of the samples, or from a combination of these two sources. It called for further testing and an excavation of the site.

As part of the preparation for the redevelopment of the site, an archaeological survey of the No.1 Division site was conducted in 2005. This involved excavating a number of test trenches to see if there was anything of archaeological interest at the site. In terms of human remains, however, the tests proved inconclusive as they failed to locate any graves. It is possible that the test trenches could have missed any remains that were still there. It has also been suggested that the most of the soil in the area was removed during the 1990s demolition of the No.1 Division, which could have also removed any trace of the graves.

So are there bodies at Boggo Road? All that is now known is that early officers have a memory of a burial site outside the eastern walls, and that in the mid-1970s three officers witnessed grave-like markings in the ground during excavation work in the same area. It seems likely that there were in fact graves in this area at some point, but it also seems likely that these graves would have been destroyed in subsequent excavations.

Who were they?

If there were graves at the site, then whose graves were they? They could not pre-date the prison, as they would have been exposed during the original construction works. It has been suggested they were the remains of executed prisoners. Executed prisoners were buried wrapped in hessian sack and covered in limestone, which acts to make the body decompose much faster than normal. After spending decades underground, the remains would have turned to a soft clay-like substance – which was exactly how witnesses described the patches in the trench. Brisbane City Council records, however, records indicate that all the prisoners executed at Boggo Road were buried in the same lot in South Brisbane Cemetery. It is possible that the BCC burial records regarding the executed prisoners may be inaccurate, but in the absence of other documentary evidence they provide the best evidence as to what happened to the bodies of the executed prisoners.

It is also possible that the graves were those of other prisoners who died at the gaol from causes such as suicide, disease or murder. Over a hundred prisoners died at the site in the 117 years that prisons operated there, some from highly infectious diseases.

Another burial site? There is also hearsay evidence to suggest that some prisoners were buried to the front of the same prison. A 19th-century photograph (below) shows some white fencing, similar to a grave border, under a tree to the front left of the driveway from Boggo Road. This area is now the site of the Dutton Park police station. A retired officer who owned the image claimed to have seen several grave sites here in the 1930s, some being fenced and one bordered with stones. In the photograph, however, this area is partially obscured by trees, making it difficult to observe the alleged graves. Image: BRGHS

For more on this subject, read: Christopher Dawson, 'The Dead Outside the Fence: Burying executed prisoners in Brisbane, 1830-1913', Queensland History Journal vol. 20, no.8 (November 2008), Royal Historical Society of Queensland.

© BRGHS 2010

 

Over the years the BRGHS have collected many examples of the language of the Australian prisoner subculture, some of it dating back to convict times. Below is as short selection of some of these words. The years in brackets indicate when the word was recorded by others.

boob Prison. Recorded at Boggo Road in 1907. ‘Boob’ is derived from children’s slang of the 19th century, when lice were called ‘boobies’. Cells were referred to as a ‘booby-hatch’ (1859+) or ‘booby-hutch’ (1720+). Terms derived from this include:		toe ragger A prisoner serving a short sentence (1950s). Possibly derived from the fact that many short-term prisoners were in for vagrancy (who were reputed to wear ‘toe rags’ instead of socks). Such prisoners in 19th century Darlinghurst Gaol were referred to by the warders as the Toe Rag Push.
boob head: A prisoner who has influence in the prison, deferred to by other prisoners.		peter Cell (1800s). Originated from the old slang ‘peter’, for portmanteau (a trunk or a box), the term was applied to the box-like qualities of a cell) A black peter was a punishment cell, usually a very dark one. Associated peters were cells with at least two prisoners in them. A peter thief is a prisoner who steals from others’ cells. ‘Peter’ was recorded at Boggo Road in 1907.
boob gun: Tattoo machine
boob rat: A prisoner who constantly returns to prison.
boob talk: Secret language used in prison.
boob shit: Prison-issued tobacco.
boob weed: Prison-issued tobacco.
boobed: Imprisoned.
boob happy: A prisoner who develops mental health problems as a result of imprisonment.
ramp A search by warders, of a prisoner or a cell (1940s) ‘Ramps’ are usually quite reckless or violent.		chocolate frog Rhyming slang for 'dog' (informer). Short version chocolate (1970s).
cat A passive homosexual, applied to young (and usually otherwise heterosexual) prisoners who submit to this role while in prison (1950s)		coat To ostracise. The ostracised person is indicated to others by a tug on the lapel as he passes by (1970s).
short-story writer A forger, especially of cheques (1950s).		dangler A prisoner convicted of obscene exposure (1940s)
duff Steamed pudding, served once a week in some prisons. Recorded at Boggo Road in the 1950s.		gamma To have another prisoner perform fellatio on you (1980s).
hook job (NSW, 1940s) A prisoner serving 2 years or over. They had a letter ‘C’ (the ‘hook’) stamped above their prison numbers on the front and back of their coats.		flea (1940s) A prisoner who seeks to be on good terms with warders and prisoners (i.e. he hops from one to the other, like a flea).
Kathleen Mavoureen An indeterminate sentence, or an habitual criminal, who may receive such a sentence (1950s).  From the refrain of a song ‘Kathleen Mavoureen’: “It may be for years, it may be forever’		hock A prisoner who takes the active or ‘insertor’ role in homosexual relations (1940s) This role does not necessarily indicate that the person adopting it is perceived as, or actually is, a homosexual.
lunar One-month sentence. Also Moon. A three-moon is three months, a six-moon or sixer is six.		log A dull unresponsive person. Usually applied to warders with this personality (1940s).

 

To see over 600 examples of terms like these, read Inside History's Illustrated Boggo Road Dictionary of Prison Language, Slang & Flash (RRP $8).

© BRGHS 2010

 

From conversations with visitors to the gaol museum, it is clear that the 'Black Holes' have become a major part of Boggo Road mythology. It is also a very misunderstood part of the prison's history.

The original No.1 Division was built with two underground cells, which were used to separately confine troublesome prisoners for 24 hours or so (see plan here). These cells were described by superintendent Roy Stephenson:

"Also built into A. Wing were two special underground punishment cells commonly known as ‘black peters’. To enter these it was necessary to descend ten stone steps after passing through a trapdoor in the floor of the wing. An abrupt left turn and a half dozen paces brought you to the door of the cell. When this door opened, it revealed another door hinged to the inside of the cell. When this door opened, it revealed another door hinged to the inside of the cell wall with a buffer area of fourteen inches between each door. Even with both doors open, the darkness inside the cell was incredible. The air was foul and the floor was usually covered with water from underground seepage. The use of the black peters in this wing was discontinued some years ago. To sentence men however bad they may be, to be locked away in these cells was barbaric to say the least, and their use should never again be contemplated.

B Wing also contained two ‘dark cells’, which were also underground but were better ventilated as they adjoined an external wall.

Life in these cells was extremely tedious. No conversation or tobacco was allowed, and the diet was strictly bread and water. For many the only form of enterainment was a game called 'Find the Buttons', which involved throwing a button into the darkness and then looking for it.

The new No.1 Division also had punishment cells, which became infamous as the ‘black holes’. Although these were mostly underground, they were built into sloping ground and so had external ventilation. They were, however, felt to be inhumane and were closed in 1984 under public pressure. In late 1987 the Bjelke-Petersen state government made a controversial decision to reopen the cells in order to contain Aboriginal protestors who were felt to be a threat to World Expo '88. This move sparked major riots across the Boggo Road prisons. The punishment cells were closed by the Goss government in 1989 as they were in breach of United Nations regulations regarding the treatment of prisoners.  Six new punishment cells were then built adjacent to No.2 Division, each with an individual exercise yard, shower and toilet.

 

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© BRGHS 2010

 

It seems that 'Find the Buttons' was played in dark cells around the world throughout the 20th century.

Boggo Road "The rules for this were to remove all the buttons from his clothing, throw them around the cell and then locate them in the darkness. When all had been found, they would be thrown away again and relocated. This would be repeated many times until the term of punishment had expired." (Roy Stephenson, 'Nor Iron Bars a Cage', 1982)		Alcatraz "Well, when I’d go in the hole, what I used to do is I’d tear a button off my coverall, flip it up in the air, then I’d turn around in circles, then I’d get down on my hands and knees and I’d hunt for that button. When I found the, button... stand up and do it again." Ex-inmate of Alcatraz (Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour Book)
Goulbourn, NSW "Give a man fourteen days, seven days, or even forty-eight hours of the eternal blackness of a punishment cell, with sixteen ounces of dry bread! Let him drag out the moments of his unseeing anguish with nothing to do but to tear a button from his branded garb and toss it from him in order that he might searchingly grope to find it - do something to distract, something to occupy his mind, something to keep away the horrible fear of madness which such inhuman treatment assuredly create!"  (Vance Marshall, 'The World of the Living Dead', 1918)		L.A. County Jail "At other times I played a game with a button torn from my long johns. I threw it against a wall at an angle so it would bounce. Then I would make a ritualised search, using one finger, poking it down every few inches rather than sweeping the floor with my hand. That would have been too easy." (Edward Bunker, 'Education of a Felon', 2000)

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© BRGHS 2010

In July 1966 officer Bernard Ralph was killed by a prisoner in the bootshop at Boggo Road. The prisoner was John Hobson, a former Westbrook boy who was serving life without parole for the senseless triple murder of a farmer, his wife, and a teenage girl.

The following is adapted from a manuscript by an ex-prisoner:

"In the bootshop I knew a number of the lifers, and Boots Hobson was a big country boy who was suffering with his triple life sentence, and he often came to me for my opinion or advice. Boots’ problems grew daily when the instructor went on his long service leave and a rotation of inept warders began to take turns giving orders to the bootshop inmates. These snappish warders came from the main pool in One Division and many were the Wacol-trained bullies, hoping to prove their courage and personal mettle.

Boots spoke many times of the bullies who were riding him and I told him to pretend to be sick with the flu and to stay inside his cell until the new influx settled down. He did this and it seemed to work, and later that week he went happily on back to work. When the extempore warders again singled him out for attention, he put his thumb under the boot press and he pressed the lever. His thumb flattened out like a shoe sole and I watched him while I stood on a sewing table, gawking at his action. Boots grinned at me as warders hurriedly took him to One Division to be transferred to the hospital to have his thumb amputated.

Upon returning from the local hospital after the thumb incident, Boots had some time off work and he would walk back and forth with me, day in and day out... Boots was mentally ill and would masturbate openly in the showers and then dress as if that was all a part of his daily toilet and grooming. I wondered what right the ignorant authorities had in putting youths, including myself, in that concrete prison yard with criminally insane men who were on the verge of killing themselves. Or in some extreme cases, other men they did not know..."

Bootshop, Boggo Road, ca.1960s (BRGHS collection)

"Nobby Clarke was the workshop instructor. It was mostly a workshop for lifers and long termers and to my memory Nobby handled the men calmly and decently. In 1966 Nobby was on leave for three or more months, and Officer Bernard Ralph took over as bootshop officer. Ralph was a harsh disciplinarian in his late fifties, and the rumbling and grumbling by prisoners should have told the administration that he was unsuited to be locked behind the mesh partitions with men who repelled ongoing orders and directions. Boots Hobson, as it was freshly relayed to me, had been disciplined and warned by Ralph

Bernard Ralph was sitting in this alcove having his morning tea and Boots Hobson calmly walked to the buffing machine, removed the thick bar used as a lever to raise or lower the spinning brushes, then walked up behind P.O. Ralph and crashed it into his skull. He fell from his chair onto the floor and Boots took a portion of his morning tea and went back to his bench and began working. Only two prisoners witnessed the attack and said nothing at that time. One was Robert ‘Bobby’ Moore. The guard on the catwalk did not see it happen and a young prisoner approached the alcove, or ‘office’ and saw Mr. Ralph prostrate on the floor with brain matter seeping onto the floor. The lad involuntary called out and the armed guard on the catwalk then saw the scene and pointed his gun at the young man and threatened to shoot him. Guards came from every where and the bootshop prisoners were escorted one by one to their cells in Two Division. Boots was taken under escort to his cell, after a prisoner said that Boots had been named by other prisoners as the person who had killed Mr. Ralph. All the other workshop prisoners were locked in their cells and officer J___ F___ and other unnamed officers allegedly called for the bashing and castration of the men in the cells. Prisoners then began to barricade their cells but cooler heads prevailed when Mr. Hogan, Mr. Kearney, Jim Kelleher, Bill Brooks and other sensible older officers stood in front of the angry officers and calmed them down. I arrived back at the gaol some weeks after the event and this was the mostly corroborated information that was spoken at that time."

Hobson did not escape the wrath of some officers for long. He was later transferred to a secure mental health facility, and died of a massive heart attack in Boggo Road some 20 years later.

 

© BRGHS 2010