CHAOS AND CRIME: Prison escapes, assaults and strikes at notorious jail

Rockhampton’s iconic prison has a long and dark history with the underbelly of Queensland’s criminal class causing chaos and even death. We take you behind the scenes of the jail.

Rockhampton’s prison has had a coloured past with stories of escapees, riots, smuggled drugs, staff protests, over capacity and more corrupt behaviour.

Taking a look back at the microfilms of old Morning Bulletins over the years, the jail was a regular fixture on the front pages for various incidents.

One of the most prominent was in 1992 when 124 prisoner officers went on strike for 11 days.

The officers expressed concerns of safety at the prison, stress under which the worked in, work conditions and the lack of support for dealing with inmates.

The strike led to an industrial dispute hearing at the Rockhampton Supreme Court in the following weeks.

Prison officers told the court about incidents that had suffered with recounts of inmates who spat on them and one who attempted to blind an officer by throwing a tube of spray through a door.

One prisoner officer was assaulted by an inmate, causing a burst blood vessel in the brain.

Other stories detailed many escapes, as inmates cut the fences or damaged windows and broke free – including prisoner Brian Leslie Slade in 1992 who made it all the way to the Gold Coast.

Between 1985 and 91, eight prisoners had escaped and in 1991 prisoner officers discovered a replica cell-block key which could have led to a mass escape.

Lawrence James Riley, a convicted rapist, escaped from the prison through the roof in 1992.

He was the fourth prisoner to escape from the Rockhampton jail in five days.

Roadblocks were set up north of the city as police officers inspected vehicles to look for him.

Sadly, Constable Sondra Lena, aged 20, was inspecting a truck and was hit by a car.

She later died (April 10, 1992) from her injuries.

Ms Lena was Queensland’s first policewoman to die from injuries sustained while on duties.

More than 750 people filled out a Rockhampton church for her memorial service.

She was described as a keen, dedicated and loyal officer – she was even working overtime at the time of the accident.

Constable Sondra Lena, aged 20, was inspecting a truck and was hit by a car. She later died (April 10, 1992) from her injuries.

Another prisoner, Roderick James Cameron was sentenced to another eight months in 1992 for throwing a bucket of hot water on a prison nurses face and smashing and breaking cell doors and locks.

Rockhampton’s first prison was H.M. Gaol which operated from around 1864 to 1884 was located on South and Murray streets.

It was made of brick and the walls were crumbling, forcing the closure.

The second one, built in North Street in the 1870s, operated from 1884.

It accommodated 43 males and 20 females but was often over capacity.

The goal was closed in 1939 as it was downgraded to a police goal status and all prisoners were transported to Townsville.

A police goal is staffed by police officers only and used for short-term prisoners.

Eventide Homes, a state government nursing home, was built on the site of the former goal.

Another prison was built around 1968 and operated until 2001, known as Etna Creek Prison.

A new law was passed in 1988 which saw all prisons renamed to “Correctional Centres” and it was renamed Rockhampton Correctional Centre.

The current prison was built on part of the site of the Rockhampton Correctional Centre.

The prison which exists today, known as the Capricornia Correctional Centre, was officially opened on September 12, 2001.

The prison houses high and low security male prisoners and has a low security farm.

In 2021, a $241 million expansion was completed at the prison.

The centre’s capacity was doubled with 348 new cells and 130 extra full-time jobs were created.

The Capricornia Correctional Centre now has a capacity of 750 cells and 957 beds.

It was reported in June 2021, it held about 680 inmates.

However, 10 months ago, that was not the case, according to one story about one man moved from Capricornia due to overcrowding.

This is the sixth story by Morning Bulletin’s Vanessa Jarrett into the Capricornia Correctional Centre, as it was announced an independent internal review would take place into the workforce culture at the prison. See the other stories here.