On a warm, almost balmy spring evening 19 Glenferrie Rotarians accompanied by 10 guests walked through the historic gates of HM prison Pentridge. We were taken back in time by National Trust guide, Damien, to explore the history of this penal facility and to hear stories, mostly excruciatingly sad but sometimes uplifting from previous inmates. It was initially established as the Pentridge Stockade in 1851 with a perimeter fence that could be stepped over!
This arrangement was clearly inadequate and construction of a secure facility built by prisoners from locally quarried stone was constructed. Damien regaled us with stories of attempted escapes and management practices by Prison Staff whilst high-lighting the major dates until the Prison's closure in 1997.
We spent 30-40 minutes in H Division, also known as "Hell Division" which was opened as a maximum security punishment block in 1958. The audio recordings from previous inmates were mostly very sad and quite unsettling. The management practices were demeaning, cruel and not designed to rehabilitate.
At 8.00PM, 24 of the group, joined by a further two rotarians, repaired to the newly built Interlude Hotel which incorporated the former B Division of Pentridge. We then reflected on our experience whilst enjoying a wonderful meal from shared plates accompanied by a glass or two of one's preferred beverage.
The feedback has been positive and there has been encouragement to plan further "off campus"(i.e. not at Kooyong) events during 2027.