Full description
Her Majesty's Prison, Beechworth, originally proclaimed as Beechworth Gaol, was a medium-security gaol in Beechworth, Victoria. Constructed in several stages between 1857 and 1864, once completed it had the operational capacity of 132. It was one of several gaols built to replace the temporary prison structures and prison hulks used to hold prisoners until the 1850s. Like the other Victorian prisons built during this period, it followed the Pentonville model of prison design and prisoner reform.Before the construction of the new gaol, the police lock-up had been proclaimed as Beechworth Gaol in 1854, and the former police court was designated a gaol for Chinese prisoners in 1860. These earlier gaols were the site of numerous successful escapes. The new gaol was proclaimed in February 1865.
In 1918 the gaol was designated a police gaol due to underutilisation. In 1926, it was later proclaimed a Reformatory Prison for Men in 1926 under the Crimes Act 1915 for the detention of 'habitual criminals' in accordance with the Indeterminate Sentences Act 1907. In 1940, land near Beechworth was allocated to the prison for farming purposes. This reserve was extended in 1948 and 1950.
In 1951, the prison became Beechworth Training Prison, ahead of the abolition of reformatory prisons under the Penal Reform Act 1956. It was registered Special School no. 4760 in 1955 and remained so until Training Prisons were abolished by 1981.
In July 1981, it was renamed Her Majesty's Prison, Beechworth. The prison continued and expanded its farming program as a method of prisoner rehabilitation until it closed in 2004. It was replaced by the Beechworth Correctional Centre (VA 5765), which was built on former prison farmland.
Data time period:
[1865 TO 2004]
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