HM Prison Morwell River
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| HM Prison Morwell River | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Victoria |
| Status: | Closed |
| Security class: | ? |
| Capacity: | ? |
| Opened: | 1964 |
| Closed: | 1997 |
| Managed by: | ? |
HM Prison Morwell River, opened in 1964, was an open prison located in Morwell, Victoria.
Morwell had neither gates nor fences. Inmates were either serving short sentences or were at the end of longer ones. There was nothing to stop them walking to freedom; but with so little to gain and so much to lose, very few did.
Described by one inmate as "like a badly run caravan park", it was made up of (a) the officers' quarters, separated by a small stream from the rest of the camp, (b) the administration buildings, and (c) the inmates' "huts". In summer the huts became unbearably hot, but electric fans were permitted.
In the early 1990's the prison Governor was removed while an investigation into certain "irregularities" was conducted. The officers' quarters were also raided at that time.
The Melbourne radio shock-jock Derryn Hinch was an inmate in 1987. The self-pitying account in his biography "That's Life" does not mention that he was - allegedly - thoroughly loathed not only by the inmates but also by the prison officers.
In his book, Hinch brags (p. 185) that on his release he was taken by limousine to a helicopter, which, in a display of incredible bad taste towards his former prisoner "friends", he directed to fly over the prison:
...the chopper pilot, at my request, and like a scene from a bad M*A*S*H script does a run down Main Street over the prison. I recognise my hut and feel no pangs. Somebody put a bottle of good French champagne in an ice bucket in the helicopter.
("Main Street" was the front row of huts, and much sought after by inmates).
Prison officers at Morwell created and administered, very successfully, a charity called Prisoners On The Run, which raised money for children.
Inmates and prison officers (normally bitter enemies, "crims" and "screws") called a truce while working on the project. Prisoners were taken to shopping centers in Morwell and left unattended, at total liberty and on trust, to rattle their tins. Civilian clothes (rather than the shapeless "prison green" tracksuits and Dunlop sneakers) were worn. The local community was generous, supportive and accepting of the men from Morwell River Prison Farm.
[edit] Notable prisoners
[edit] References
 Prisons in Victoria |
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| Acheron Boys Home | Allambie Reception Centre | Ashendene Boys Home | Beechworth Correctional Centre | Dame Phyllis Frost Centre | Fulham Correctional Centre | J Ward | Hillside Boys Home | HM Prison Ararat | HM Prison Barwon | HM Prison Beechworth | HM Prison Bendigo | HM Melbourne Assessment Prison | HM Prison Dhurringile| HM Prison Fairlea | HM Prison Geelong | HM Prison Langi Kal Kal| HM Prison Loddon | HM Prison Morwell River | HM Prison Pentridge | HM Prison Sale | HM Prison Tarrengower | HM Prison Won Wron | Illoura Children’s Home | Ivanhoe Hostel | Melbourne Custody Centre | Mirallee Reception Centre | Old Castlemaine Gaol | Malmsbury Youth Training Centre | Marngoneet Correctional Centre | Old Melbourne Gaol | Metropolitan Remand Centre | Pirra Girls’ Home | Port Phillip Prison | Turana Youth Training Centre | Winlaton Youth Training Centre | |
