D Division, Pentridge Prison in Coburg
The History.
Pentridge was originally established in the December of 1850 as a stockade to cater for the overcrowding at Melbourne Gaol. When Pentridge was first built, the walls surrounding the prison were not the giant bluestone ones you see today, but a mere 1.2 metre wooden fence. The buildings in the grounds were small wooden huts on wheels watched by an insufficient amount of guards.
Between the years of 1857 to 1864 Pentridge became a high security prison, the bluestone walls and towers were built around the perimeter and the huts were replaced with single person cells. In 1894 a three storey building was constructed on the grounds to be used to as a female prison and remained so until 1956, the three storey building then became ‘D’ division as its now known. ‘D’ division housed the infamous hanging beam, where prisoners who committed serious crimes met their fate. Adjacent to the hanging beam was a room that was twice the size of the other cells where the man who was next in line to be hung spent his final night. The last man to be hung was Ronald Ryan in 1967 after he was thought to have killed a guard during an attempt to escape, seeing that he may have been innocent the hangings were discontinued. Part of Pentridge closed in 1997 as part of a plan to make prisons more private. The section of the prison that remained open later closed in 1999. During its time Pentridge housed some of Melbourne’s most notorious criminals including Ned Kelly, Mark ‘Chopper’ Read and Harry Power.
Matt Lindsay Photography