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The History Of Boggo Road
Old Number 1 Division
1883-1969
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No 1 Division was erected in the 1860's. It contained 3 cellblocks which were A,
B and C Wings.
'A' wing was the most notorious section of the prison. It contained
the gallows where men such as Pat Kennif were hanged.
At the rear of 'A' Wing was
some of the infamous underground Black Peter Cells which are covered elsewhere
on this site.
Boggo Road was originally known as 'Bolgo' road, which is an Aboriginal word
meaning 'leaning tree's'.
It was renamed Annerley Road in 1905.
Image of Division 1 Gatehouse circa 1920's
The current 2 Gaol is right turn at the top of the driveway
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The old 1 Division was condemned to rubble
in the late 1960's and was replaced with the new white multi million dollar
1
Division in the early 1970's.
Google Earth image showing locations on the Prisons 9Ha reserve circa 2003
The site was surveyed in February 2005 by
Brisbane company Austral Archaeology.
Three main points of interest are the Tunnel (1920) linking the divisions
(orange line) and the underground water cistern at the entrance to old 1
Division and the possible location of unmarked graves. The survey also attempted
to locate any remains of the underground punishment cells known as 'black
peters' which they dug a trench where the rear of A' wing once stood.
No traces of unmarked graves or black peter underground cells were found, this
being due to thorough demolition during the late 60's and early 70's when
preparing for commencement of building the newer 1 Division prison.
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The Tunnel
1920 - 200?
Around 1920, a tunnel was build between both divisions for access of food delivery and prisoner transfer between divisions.
The 2005 Survey located a fairly well preserved tunnel that had the roof removed during the 70's demolition work and was filled in with rubble.
Above Image courtesy of Austral Archeology and is subject to
copyright
Excavation Image of the Tunnel
It was found
to be 1.1m wide and 1.9m deep, concrete poured into wooden formwork and sealed
with asphalt prior to demolition. You can see in the above image the floor was
sealed with bitumen prior to it's demolition/filling with rubble.
On the top of the walls can be seen the remains that were the red brick roof of
the tunnel.
Close up image of the side of the Tunnel.
You can see the marks in the concrete from the wooden form boards and the red
brick remnants of the roof.
With the new Boggo Road Precinct works underway as you read this, it is unknown
what will happen with the Tunnel.
It will probably be left filled in for later excavation in the distant future.
Not much can be done with it, but it is a significant part of the gaols history.
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The Cistern
Late 1800's
Just inside the main gate of 1 Division a water cistern is located
This archeology image shows the side of the
old cistern. It is made of the usual red brick and mortar, sealed with concrete.
The roof, damaged in the demolition of the old Gaol was dome shaped. The hole in
the center was where a concrete pipe was placed during the building of the
1970's 1 Division. The cistern roof was around 3.25m in diameter and the walls
of the structure were 29cms thick.
After my recent trip to the site, It looks
like the cistern will be permanently buried under concrete.
Due to the modern plumbing that would have gone into the Gaol in the 50's and
60's, the cistern will be a time capsule of prison life at Boggo Road. You can
only imagine what was thrown down it.
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