AGY-917 | Norma Parker Centre (1979-1993) / Norma Parker Correctional Centre (1993-1999) / Norma Parker Periodic Detention Centre (1999-2008)

Full description

The Norma Parker Centre, Parramatta was proclaimed a prison on 19 December 1979 under the Prisons Act 1952 (Act No.9, 1952). The Centre was located on 1.15 hectares on the property previously known as the Girls' Training School or Kamballa in Parramatta. (1)

The Centre provided additional accommodation for female prisoners and was named in honour of the pioneering and influential social worker Norma Parker CBE. It was a minimum-security prison that also housed women in the work release program. It was the second facility in NSW for incarcerated women and was the first low security women’s prison in the State. Norma Parker consisted of three separate accommodation areas: Winmill Cottage, Morgan House, and a section located above the facility’s offices for women on Work Release. (2)

On 20 January 1993 the Centre was revoked as a prison and was re-established as a correctional centre under the new name - Norma Parker Correctional Centre. (3)

The centre was officially revoked as a correctional centre on 22 December 1999 and was re-established as Norma Parker Periodic Detention Centre. The centre was downsized to only be in the area of 3764 square metres on the previous site. (4)

At 30 June 2002 the Centre had 20 female inmates and a further 22 mid-week. (5)

The Centre was closed by 2009 and the last detainees at Norma Parker Periodic Detention Centre were transferred on 24 February 2008 to Emu Plains Periodic Detention Centre. (6)

Endnotes
1. NSW Government Gazette No.2, 4 January 1980, p.24.
2. Paramatta North Historic Sites, Consolidated Conservation Management Plan—Part B Norma Parker Centre/Kamballa Site [Heritage Significance Assessment], March 2017, Issue E, p.49.
3. NSW Government Gazette No.7, 22 January 1993, pp.240-241.
4. NSW Government Gazette No.3, 14 January 2000, pp.302-303.
5. Department of Corrective Services, Annual Report 2002-2003, p.140.
6. Department of Corrective Services, Annual Report 2007-2008, p.138.

References
- New South Wales Government Gazette. Sydney, Government Printer, 1832–
- NSW. Department of Corrective Services. "An analysis of NSW Prison Proclamations, compiled by Denis Fitzpatrick. Sydney, The Department, 1996."