Australia's largest prison. The most famous prison escapes. When Exile to Australia Was a Blessing

Port Arthur is located on the Tasmanian Peninsula in Australia. This small town is known for the fact that until 1877 there was a hard labor prison, which was considered one of the worst prisons in the world. It contained the most notorious criminals, including those who had already escaped from other prisons. In the prison, built in 1933, approximately 13,000 prisoners served their sentences, 2,000 of whom died in it.

The Port Arthur prison was a complex of 60 buildings. There were 80 solitary cells, a hospital mortuary, a Catholic chapel, a cathedral where representatives of all faiths could pray, a psychiatric hospital, a bakery, a laundry, a kitchen, a commandant's residence, and much more. Most of the prison buildings were damaged during forest fires, wooden buildings were destroyed by them, only stone ones survived.

Port Arthur prison is now open to tourists. They can inspect what is left of the prison buildings. Within the walls of the prison, actors act out scenes from the life of prisoners. Tours are also conducted on the Isle of the Dead, where the prison cemetery is located, tourists are also shown the former colony for boys of Point Puer, where they were sent from the age of nine.

Dreaming about distant lands is common for children and adults. But this is perhaps the most amazing country. A country. Island. Continent. And it's all about Australia! South of Indonesia, between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, is the smallest continent on earth. When talking about this wonderful part of our planet, we will often use superlatives and the word “most”.

The important physical characteristics of the island also include the Great Barrier Reef - the coral reef - the longest in the world. Its length is 2300 km, and it is visible from space.

Beautiful cities are located along the coast of the ocean, numerous huge sandy beaches. In winter, there is a huge amount of snow in the mountains, such as the Snowy Mountains or the Australian Alps. Sometimes - more than in all of mountainous Switzerland.
The cleanest air in the world is in Tasmania, Australia. The whitest sand on Hyams Beach, located on the shores of Jersey Bay. It was even entered into the Guinness Book of Records.

Australia is the oldest continent, but the youngest state. And yet ... it has no land borders with any country. Leading in terms of literacy, Australia is one of the ten countries in the world with the highest standard of living. Outstripped such a monster as South America in diamond mining. After opening in 1979. diamond vein in Western Australia, it now ranks first in the world in the extraction of these precious stones. The country's currency is the Australian dollar, by the way, made of plastic.

The largest city in this country is Sydney (4 million people). The capital Canberra is not so crowded - its population is 300 thousand people. But it is there that the largest building in the southern hemisphere is located. This is the magnificent building of the Australian Parliament.

An architectural marvel built in 1960 is the Sydney Opera House. Think about it, it has 1000 rooms! Placed - 5000 people! And the roof of this grand structure weighs 161 tons.

Another monumental building is the largest arched bridge in Sydney Harbor - Bridge. And the Sydney Television Tower is the tallest in the southern hemisphere.

Making up 1% of the world's population, 88% of Australians live in cities. Moreover, literally a quarter of the population of this continent was born outside of it. And 32% of women and 34% of men have never been engaged. 2.5 people per 1 sq. km - such a population density of this country, comparable in area to populous Europe.

Once - the largest prison - a former British penal colony ... now - the mainland with the lowest crime rate on the globe. Although over the past 200 years, a total of 160 thousand prisoners have been exiled to this remote continent. The indigenous tribes (natives) who lived in “New South Wales” (as Australia was called in those days) spoke 200 languages ​​and dialects. Now they make up only 1.5% of the population and drag out a miserable, beggarly existence. But the other part of the population is not shy about their spending, for example, when playing poker. 20% of the funds worldwide lost in this insanely gambling game are accounted for by the inhabitants of this country.

The largest pasture in the world (in Australia it is called a ranch) is comparable to the territory of such a European country as Belgium. The most popular pets are sheep. And if the number of these animals is 150 million, then, for comparison, the population of the continent is 20 million people. In this amazing country, there are 16 times more rabbits than people. They are classified as pests. There are a lot of kangaroos, which are now even bred on the ranch.

Marsupials living in Australia, like many millions of years ago, are not the only rare species of the animal world. In the national parks and reserves of the continent, such as Buffalo, Kosciuszko, South West, etc., emu, kangaroo, kookaburra, koala, various parrots, cockatoo, feral dog Dingo, platypus and echidna, snakes (among them very many poisonous).

Penguins and seals swim from Antarctica to the southern coast of the mainland. There are a lot of insect species in this country: 4000 species of ants, 350 termites, 6000 flies, 1500 spiders.
©Inga Korneshova the article was written specifically for the site
Since this mainland is located in the southern hemisphere, when we have winter - there - the summer heat and the beach season. And even the disk of the moon on this “island-continent” is turned upside down.

Eastern Australia was declared a territory of Great Britain in 1770, and the first colony was founded on January 26, 1788. As the population of Australia grew, six self-governing colonies were founded in Australia.

On January 1, 1901, these six colonies formed a federation. Since that time, Australia has maintained a stable democratic system of government. Australia's neighbors are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea from the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu from the northeast, and New Zealand from the southeast. The shortest distance between the main island of Papua New Guinea and mainland Australia is 150 kilometers; however, from the Australian island of Boigu to Papua New Guinea, only 5 kilometers.

The name "Australia" comes from the Latin. australis meaning southern. Legends of the "unknown southern land" (terra australis incognita) date back to the time of the Romans, were a commonplace in medieval geography, but were not based on real knowledge. The Dutch have been using this term for all newly discovered southern lands since 1638.

The name "Australia" became popular after the publication of Journey in Terra Australis by Captain Mathew Flinders. Governor of New South Wales McQuirey used the title in correspondence with England. In 1817 he recommended this name as the official one. In 1824, the British Admiralty finally approved this name for the continent.

How did immigration to Australia begin?

However, as early as the beginning of the 18th century, the authorities passed a law that in many cases allowed the death penalty to be replaced by deportation to the English colonies in North America. Soon, up to a thousand prisoners a year were sent there, mainly to Virginia and Maryland. But, having declared themselves an independent state in 1776, these colonies no longer wanted to accept British criminals. Then they began to be sent to terrible floating prisons on the River Thames, but even those were overcrowded.

The way out appeared thanks to the discovery of new lands by Captain James Cook. In 1786, it was decided to make the east coast of Australia a place of exile. The following year, the First Fleet sailed off the coast of England to establish the first colony called New South Wales. Other ships followed him, and soon a lot of hard labor settlements were formed in Australia, including on Norfolk Island, located 1,500 kilometers northeast of Sydney.

"Many of the 'criminals' deported to Australia were children under adolescence," writes Bill Beatty in his book Early Australia-With Shame Remembered. According to this book, in one case the court sentenced a seven-year-old boy to "life exile in Australia".

The first wave of immigration to Australia: the establishment of penal colonies.

Shipwrecks were another threat to life. The British ship "Amphitrite" five days after sailing from England, still within sight of the coast of France, was caught in a severe storm. Mercilessly thrown by the waves for two days, the ship ran aground a kilometer from the coast on August 31, 1883 at five o'clock in the afternoon.

However, the crew made no rescue attempts and did not launch any lifeboats. Why? For one simple reason: so that the prisoners - 120 women and children - do not escape! After three hours filled with horror, the ship began to sink, and people began to be washed into the sea. Most of the crew and all 120 women and children perished. In the following days, 82 corpses washed up on the shore, and among them was the corpse of a mother who held her child so tightly that even death could not separate them.

But it must be said that the situation of some prisoners was not so bad. Indeed, for someone in Australia, in fact, better prospects opened up than at home. Yes, that part of the history of Australia was extremely controversial: it combined cruelty and mercy, death and hope. She got her start in the UK.

Settling Australia: when death is desired.

Only priests, as spiritual and therefore inviolable persons, could openly condemn such inhuman treatment. “No words can describe how cruelly the convicts were treated,” wrote one priest. “Things that are terrible even to think about were committed with complete impunity.”

Australian history: a glimmer of hope.

Maconokey's reform proved so effective that it was subsequently widely adopted in England, Ireland, and the United States. But at the same time, with his innovations, Makonoki dealt a strong blow to the pride of some influential people, whose methods he rejected. It cost him his seat. After his departure, mistreatment on Norfolk resumed, but not for long. In 1854, thanks to the priests, the island ceased to be a place of hard labor settlements, and the exiles were transported to Tasmania, to Port Arthur.

Port Arthur, especially in the early years, also terrified people. Still, the treatment of convicts here was not as cruel as on Norfolk. Corporal punishment was abolished here almost completely in 1840.

As Ian Brand wrote in his book Port Arthur-1830-1877, George Arthur, the strict governor of Tasmania, wanted to establish his colony's reputation as "a place of iron discipline." And at the same time, Arthur wanted every convict to learn that "good behavior is rewarded, and bad behavior is punished." To do this, he divided the convicts into seven categories, starting with those who were promised early release for exemplary behavior, and ending with those who were sentenced to the most difficult work in shackles.

When Exile to Australia Was a Blessing

Governor Lachlan Macquarie, an ardent defender of freed convicts, said: "A man who has been released should never be reminded of his criminal past, and even more so reproached for it; human." Macquarie backed up his words with deeds: he allocated plots of land to the liberated exiles, and also gave them some prisoners to help in the field and with housework.

Over time, many hardworking and enterprising former convicts became wealthy and respected, and in some cases even famous people. For example, Samuel Lightfoot founded the first hospitals in Sydney and Hobart. William Redfern became a well-respected physician, and Australians owe many of the architectural structures in and around Sydney to Francis Greenaway.

Finally, in 1868, after 80 years, Australia ceased to be a place of exile. The modern society of this country does not remind of those terrible years. Partially preserved penal settlements are of historical interest only. Less horrifying evidence of that era has also survived: bridges, buildings and churches built by convicts. Some of them are in excellent condition and are still in use today.

Sue Paull photographed the inmates of Australia's most famous prisons for 15 years as an art teacher. Her stunning photographs show the world of murderers and rapists hidden behind bars.

Before becoming a prison art teacher and photographer, Poll worked in a school system whose rules she didn't like. When she came to classes with especially dangerous prisoners, she felt quite at ease.

Under her direction, hundreds of prisoners painted pictures, made pottery and sculptures, which were later exhibited at the entrance of the Long Bay prison and in many foreign galleries.

While working in the penitentiary system, Poll began photographing prisoners, at first only in the art studio, and later outside of it. Her stunning black and white images provide a glimpse into the hidden world of Australian prisons between 1993 and the late 2000s.

Using a documentary style in many of his photographs, Pall nonetheless draws attention to beautiful images, such as tattoos of prisoners and their physical strength, which is essential for surviving behind bars.

Prisoner Terry stands in front of one of his paintings called "Long Bay Hilton Foyer".

An inmate at the gym at the Long Bay Correctional Complex in 1993 during the daily exercise that many inmates do to keep fit in a rather dangerous prison environment.

Officer Jane in full gear at Goulburn Correctional Center where a female officer rescued male officers during a prisoner uprising in 2002, sustaining stab wounds and severe head injuries.

Inmate Tom Foster shows off his powerful physique and tattoos while working in the garden statue workshop at Silverwater Penitentiary, where he was transferred from Long Bay Prison.

Jailer on duty in 1996 on the top tier of the Parramatta Correctional Center, which opened in 1798 and closed in 2011, an old crumbling sandstone prison infested with rats.

Amanda and Michael in 1993 at Long Bay Prison, one of 34 New South Wales correctional centers where transgender relationships are part of prison life.

Convicted murderer Geoffrey Websdale, described by Sue Poll as a "superb specialist", next to one of his jobs at Long Bay Prison in 2004. In 1989, as a combine harvester trainee, he shot and wounded two people at a combine harvester camp, earning the maximum 25-year sentence.

Inmate Wayne Brown, dressed in prison green sweatpants, poses for prison art teacher and photographer Sue Poll inside the Long Bay Correctional Complex in 1997. Poll was interested in his tattoos, which included the word "Mum" ("Mum") on his right arm.

Barbed wire and steel bars entangled the gates of the old part of the Long Bay Correctional Complex in 1997, where high-risk prisoners, including murderers and rapists, were then housed. Later, the prison began to accept less dangerous criminals.

Prisoner Andrew in the statue workshop at Silverwater Prison in 1997, during one of the final stages before being released.

A shirtless prisoner sunbathing at Long Bay Prison in 1994

An armed jailer in Tower 8 of the Long Bay Correctional Complex in 1997. Only guards in the tower can carry weapons and, if necessary, shoot at fugitives or rioters.

An inmate at Long Bay Prison plays sports in the yard in 1993.

A female jailer at the gates of the Long Bay Correctional Complex in 2007, through which all guards must pass to enter the working part of the prison.

Prisoners make a variety of sharpeners from any pieces of metal found and even from toothbrushes.

Prisoner Steve shows off his tattoos at Long Bay Correctional Center in Sydney in 1994.

Isolated courtyards at the Parkley Correctional Center in 1996 for violent and violent inmates.

An inmate at the Long Bay Prison gym in 1994.

Sue Pall worked with the prisoners as an art teacher. She found creative talents in hundreds of especially dangerous criminals.

Sue Pall photographed the tattoos of some of the prisoners.

A wedding between a woman and an inmate at the Long Bay Correctional Complex in 1996, before authorities banned weddings in maximum security prisons. The few that take place behind bars now have to be cleared by the commissioner.

Some of the tattoos are quite difficult to decipher.

Inmate Tom Foster at the Long Bay Correctional Complex in 1997 depicted a flower in his painting.

The interior of Wing 9 of Long Bat Prison in 1997 shows the cell doors during the renovation period when their inmates were relocated to other prisons.

A cigarette-toothed payroll official poses for Sue Poll at Long Bay Jail in 1993.

A female rifle-wielding guard at Goulburn Correctional Center in 2004, two years after a riot when 30 inmates with homemade weapons attacked staff, injuring seven guards and nearly killing one.

Aboriginal prisoner Doug Pierce from one of his paintings. His works are now in collections in Canada, the US, France and the UK.

Prisoners' clothing hanging from the railing at Bathurst Correctional Center in 2000.

Young prisoner Simon at Long Bay Prison in 1993.

Aboriginal Jason stands in the shade of barbed wire from his large-scale painting outside the art studio at Long Bay Prison in 1999.

The correctional center in the Australian city of Goulburn is simply called "The Sphere" by the locals. He enjoys the fame of the most terrible prison in the country. It is here that the most hardened criminals - rapists, murderers, sadists - are serving their sentences. British journalists managed to see the gloomy institution from the inside.

The correctional center in the Australian city of Goulburn, 90 kilometers from Canberra and 195 kilometers from Sydney, is simply called the "Sphere" by the locals. And yet - a "human zoo". Australia's most dangerous criminals are kept in the local cages - mostly murderers and rapists.
The prison building in Goulburn was built in the 19th century. Soon the institution will celebrate its 150th anniversary.
There are about 30 prisoners in each wing of the prison. Criminals are divided along ethnic lines: natives of Asia, the Middle East and Australian Aborigines live separately from each other. Murderers and rapists are kept together in a separate wing.
Inmate Matthew De Gruci is serving a 28-year sentence in the Sphere for the murder of his mother, brother and sister. He recently took part in an attack on two prisoners that resulted in the victims being sent to the prison hospital with fractures and brain damage.
Serial killer Ivan Milat, sentenced in 1996 to six life sentences, unsuccessfully attempted to escape from The Sphere.
Thomas Hudson Wilson was Milat's partner in the failed escape. He got into the Sphere for brutally beating a woman with an iron crowbar. Wilson smashed the victim's face, broke his arms and legs. As the judge stated at the trial, she will never be able to fully recover from her injuries. The capture of the criminal did not take long: due to the complete absence of hair on the head and body of Wilson, the victim easily identified the criminal.
Bassam Hamzi is perhaps Australia's most protected criminal, an Islamist and leader of the Assassins organized crime group. After a few years of his stay in prison, it turned out that Hamzi successfully persuades other prisoners to convert to Islam and successfully manages the affairs of a criminal group while behind bars.
A poster with the emblem of his group "Assassins" - "Killers" - Khamzi kept in his cell.
Gates to Hell is the main entrance to the Goulburn Correctional Centre. Behind these gates is located both the main building of the prison and the special building "Supermax" for the most dangerous prisoners. It is there that Bassam Hamzi is serving his sentence.
Mohammed Skaf was only 17 years old when, following his older brother Bilal, he ended up in a youth criminal group that committed a number of brutal rapes of young Sydney residents.
Bilal Skaf is now 31 years old. he is serving a 33-year sentence at The Sphere on charges of multiple rapes.
There is always tension between the prisoners in the prison, joint walks in the cell courtyards often end in fights and violence. The picture shows a homemade weapon taken from the prisoners by the guards. Knives and sharpeners are made from any improvised items - combs, brushes, any metal objects found in the prison.
Assassin Leith Marchant, serving time in the "Sphere" under the influence of Bassam Hamzi converted to Islam. Now he sleeps on the bare floor of the cell and, according to the guards, is constantly hatching plans for escape.
Mark van Crevel killed three men by gutting and decapitating his first victim.
Vestor Fernando went to jail for the murder of nurse Sandra Hoare. Already behind bars, he killed his own cousin, who also ended up in the "Sphere".
Serial killer Lindsey Rose was caught making duplicate keys to prison doors. as it turned out, he was preparing to kill the guards.
The main building of the Goulburn Correctional Center was built in 1884.
Australian beauty queen Anita Cobby was kidnapped by five criminals after her shift at a hospital where she worked as a nurse. Anita was taken to a wasteland in the north of Sydney, brutally raped and killed, almost completely cutting off the girl's head. This crime was committed in 1986. The three accomplices in the murder, brothers Michael, Harry and Leslie Murphy, are still serving time for the murder of Anita Cobby at Goulburn Correctional Centre.
Janine Balding, 20, was raped and murdered at a Sydney railway station in 1988. her killer, former drifter Steven Jamieson, now has a permanent residence in The Sphere.
Victims of serial killer Ivan Milat. Basically, they were young tourists traveling around Australia. Milat is very sensitive to the conditions of his detention: for example, when a sandwich maker was taken away from him, he made a huge scandal and even went on a hunger strike, which, however, lasted less than two days.
Killer Janine Balding Stephen Jameson, nicknamed "Shorty": the growth of the killer and rapist is only 147 centimeters. He is in
Anita Cobby Killers, Murphy Brothers: Leslie...
... Harry...
...and Michael. The brothers, sentenced to life imprisonment, will not leave the Sphere until the end of their lives.
Goulburn is located in the south of Australia, in New South Wales, 90 kilometers from the country's capital, Canberra, and 195 kilometers from Sydney.
Farhad Kwaumi has repeatedly tried to riot in the prison. So, he planned to flood the cell, calling on fellow cells to join him, break out from behind the bars and start killing the guards. To kill the guards, he had already prepared a homemade knife when he was caught.
And this weapon was taken from visitors who tried to smuggle it to prisoners during visits. Of course, bringing weapons into the prison is strictly prohibited. If any weapon is found in the visitor, it is confiscated, and the violator is immediately arrested.
Killer Guy Staines converted to Islam in prison.
Mentally handicapped killer Craig Richardson, having sharpened parts from prison simulators, tried to set fire to his cell in order to lure the guards into it and attack them. As a violent prisoner, Richardson was transferred to the Supermax Corps for high-risk criminals.
The guards of the Goulburn Correctional Center seize drugs, edged weapons, mobile phones and SIM cards from prisoners and their guests almost daily.
serial rapist Bilal Skaf in the visiting room with his parents - father Mustafou and mother Baria. Later, Baria was convicted of trying to take notes out of prison in socks that Bilal sent with her to freedom, bypassing prison censorship. After that, Baria was forbidden to see his son.
Ronald Priestley, a killer serving time in the "Sphere", has already taken part in riots and attacks on prison guards several times.
In the picture, police officers remove the bodies of the victims of serial killer Ivan Milat from the Belanglo Forest in New South Wales. Milat himself will never leave the walls of the Sphere.