100 Not Out: A century of escapes from Boggo Road

October 2003 - February 2005
D-Wing cellblock

Using escape implements in the museum collection, this exhibition told the story of a wide variety of escapes from the gaol. Installed for the 2003 Boggo Road Centenary Day in the ground floor of the D wing cellblock (home to Slim Halliday for many years), the exhibition featured text boards fixed on specially-constructed display stands in each cell, and seven display cases containing attractive and innovative arrangements of artefacts. This exhibition was viewed by over 20,000 museum visitors, mainly schoolchildren and Seniors groups.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

April 2004 - February 2005
F wing cellblock

This featured the museum's collection of prisoner-made artefacts, including art, craftwork, and illegal items such as weapons, tattoo machines and drug paraphernalia confiscated from prisoners. These were presented in 14 themed display cases in F-Wing cellblock.

Life in Boggo

March - December 2005
D wing cellblock

For this exhibit we placed text stands and artefact displays in each of the 14 ground-floor cells of D-Wing. Each cell highlighted a different aspect of prison life since the 1880s, and we were able to re-present some of the material from previous exhibits in a fresh context.

The Gallows of Boggo Road

South Brisbane Cemetery plaque

In May 2005 a historical plaque was laid at the site of the unmarked prisoners graves at South Brisbane Cemetery. The project was undertaken by the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society in conjunction with the Brisbane City Council. The plaque not only highlighted a fascinating local history spot, but also acknowledged the fact that Queensland was the first part of the British Empire to abolish capital punishment.

The project received overwhelming public support, as was seen at the unveiling ceremony. Speakers at this ceremony included Aunty Valda Coolwell from the Brisbane Council of Elders, Federal Senator Claire Moore, and Councillor Helen Abrahams. Also in attendance were representatives of South Brisbane MLA Anna Bligh, the National Trust, Corrective Services, Public Works, and several religious ministers. Some descendants of the victims were also in attendance to lend their support to the project.

The South Brisbane Cemetery historical plaque (BRGHS)

The broken sandstone block that stands by the plaque came from the Boggo Road prison site, and was part of the base of the original walls. The plaque itself lists the names of all those executed, where they came from, and when they died. Beneath this is a quote from an 1899 Queensland parliamentary speech against the death penalty:

Research

During 2002 we spent six-months cataloguing the existing museum artefact and records collection. Since then we have amassed an extensive library of newspaper articles, official records, photographs, books and journal articles, and oral history transcripts, all relating to the history of Queensland prisons, inmates and staff. The gathering of this information has involved thousands of working hours and a significant allocation of financial resources. This work has allowed us to train BRGHS volunteers in archival research methods.

Our records and research experience continue to grow on a weekly basis, and we now have an excellent research library at our disposal. The underlying community approach to our research is that it both involves and is accessible to the public, and we hope to make the BRGHS Library collection accessible to the public museum visitors and students in the future.

Maintenance

A key job of the BRGHS up to 2006 was the day-to-day maintenance of the Boggo Road site. A large site like Boggo Road will quickly become overgrown if left alone, and over the years we ensured that this did not happen.

Landscaping outside the former matron's quarters.

This was no easy task, but for the BRGHS it was a labour of love. Grass needed mowing, weeds removing, yards sweeping, pigeons repelling, floors and walls cleaning, light bulbs changing, toilets cleaning, litter picking up, display cases repairing, and display boards constructing. The kind of people who would turn up every day and do this work for free need to be dedicated to the site, and the BRGHS members are.

The BRGHS maintenance crew have long been the heart and lungs of our group, turning up and pitching in every week. Most of all, they enjoyed themselves and had a great time together, creating a relaxed and cheerful working environment that set the tone for the whole BRGHS.

In addition to the above jobs, the single most time-consuming task at the site was simply keeping it open for visitors. Doors and gates needed to be locked at night and reopened in the morning. This meant that some of our volunteers were regularly putting in at least 60 hours per week at the site, on some days being there at dawn and leaving only after midnight . They also kept a close watch over the place and alerted the state government when their help was required to fix any problems.

It can truly be said that without the dedication shown by the BRGHS members responsible for maintenance and opening and closing the site, the Boggo Road Gaol Museum would have been unable to operate.

Tours

Boggo Road Tours

Guided tours of the Boggo Road site began in the early 1990s, and went on to become the big success story of the museum.

In 2000 the ex-officers who conducted these tours were taking an average of one tour per week, but due to their own hard work and an increase in targeted promotion in schools they were conducting an average of one tour per day by 2005.

The overwhelming majority of these tours were for school groups, and we estimate that since the late 1990s tens of thousands of school children have visited the Boggo Road site. All these tours were volunteer-run, which allowed us to offer them at the affordable price of $4.00 per child. The low cost of these tours directly contributed to their popularity, with many schools making annual repeat visits. The other significant tour group markets were seniors groups and night tours.

It was the personal experience of the tour guides that made these tours so successful. They were able to tell the inside story in a way that really grabbed the attention of visitors, who were invariably enthralled to hear from someone who knew the gaol so well.

Future Tours

When the museum reopens the BRGHS is hoping to be able to offer a number of tour options that build on our past strengths and, having done our market research, developed scripts and made costumes and props, and are ready to present tours that embrace modern educational techniques that increase visitor involvement.