I N F A M O U S   I N M A T E S

ERNEST “SLIM” HALLIDAY
“Slim” Halliday gained notoriety for being the only prisoner to escape from his cell twice. On a third occasion, he escaped from a workshop he had been in, ran along the roof, and jumped with two other prisoners down a 7 metre brick wall to freedom. This area he made the final part of his escape from became known as “ Halliday’s Leap”. Halliday was eventually caught off Cribb Island on Brisbane’s north side. He was found hiding underwater using a straw to breathe through. Halliday had found himself imprisoned at Boggo Road for the murder of Gold Coast taxi drive Athol McGowan in 1953. He only successfully escaped the gaol on this one occasion. He twice escaped from his cell, but he was unable to escape from the actual cellblock. Once Halliday tied his bed sheets to the leg of his bed and to the bottom of corner of his cell door. He then place a wooden brush handle in the middle of the sheets and twisted the sheets around and around until the tension lifted the corner of the door enough for him to crawl out. The second occasion he was far less methodical, yet just as effective. He simply lifted his door of its hinges. As a result of his efforts to escape, his cell door had three padlocks fitted as opposed to the standard single one, and the interior of the door had steel bars welded across it in an effort to strengthen the door. His bed was double welded against the wall to prevent it being moved. He was eventually considered such a security risk that three officers would escort him wherever he went, and when outside his cell, Halliday was confined to a wire cage under the watch of armed officers. After thirty-six years of imprisonment he was paroled, and passed away shortly after his release.