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protest, the witnesses stated, but Vigano suggested she should instead light a fire, reasoning that the buildings were very old and worthy of being condemned anyway. It was planned they would cause some damage with the fire, but then extinguish it. Torn up papers, bedding and mattresses were set fire at about 8.00 pm, and Wright threatened violence against any prisoner who pressed the buzzer to summon an officer. However the fire quickly got out of control and Wright sounded the buzzer. Ten minutes had elapsed before help arrived.
238:
As a result of the fire, many of the inmates were temporarily housed at
Pentridge Prison whilst Fairlea was rebuilt. The new complex was opened in 1986 and 3.7 million dollars was spent on the rebuilding, which allowed the prison to hold up to 106 women at a time. The old asylum and clinic structures
209:
In
January 1980 prisoners staged a riot in the mess hall where furniture and crockery were smashed and fittings ripped from kitchen walls. During the incident four prisoners took advantage of the diversion and climbed through smashed windows onto the roof. At 2.00 am prisoners set alight toilet paper
247:
A deliberately lit cell fire caused $ 3,200 damage on 8 May 1988. An officer ordered three women prisoners from their cell after seeing smoke coming from under its door. They refused and he entered to find them kneeling by a broken window trying to get fresh air. By the time the chief prison officer
234:
Coroner Kevin Mason criticised the lack of fire training carried out by the prison. He ruled that the three deceased all died of asphyxiation from carbon monoxide poisoning, and that Wright had lit the fire. The hearing heard that two prisoners were rescued by officer Roy
Ansfield who crawled into
166:
In the 1950s, the
Victorian Government committed to building the state's first all-female prison. The site chosen on National Park Road (now Yarra Bend Road), Fairfield included the grounds and structures of the former Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum and Fairhaven Venereal Disease Clinic, many of which
275:
Office, and the adjacent building are the only structural remains of
Fairlea, with the remaining grounds returned to parkland. Fairlea Road and the Fairlea East and Fairlea West ovals identify the former prison site. During its forty years of operation nearly 18,000 female inmates served time at
226:
and his associate
Michael Sullivan. Two other remand prisoners were injured. A senior police officer said that the fire had been set at 8.15 pm and was "a reaction" to an escape earlier that day. That escape had occurred at 3.00 pm when four women forced a laundry door and scaled two fences; two
230:
At the subsequent coronial inquiry, two surviving prisoners reported that the third deceased prisoner, Danielle Wright, was angry that two of her friends had been promptly recaptured and placed in solitary confinement after their escape that afternoon. Wright wanted to tear up the building in
235:
the burning building to retrieve them. At the hearing it was suggested by the counsel for Vigano's parents that the building's wooden construction was unsuitable for its purpose as a locked dormitory; he called it "a potential fire hazard and a death trap".
218:
A dormitory fire claimed the lives of three remand prisoners on the evening of
Saturday 6 February 1982. Two of the women killed, Clelia Teresa Vigano and Mary Escola Catilo, were the respective partners and criminal associates of
154:, with remnants of the walls and gates being used in the layout of the prison. In 1982 a deliberately lit fire led to the deaths of three inmates. The rebuilt and expanded prison reopened in 1986. After closing in 1996 due to
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in two bathrooms at either end of two adjoining dormitories. Prisoners from two dormitories were locked in the mess hall during the blaze. Firemen, prison officers and a few inmates soon controlled the fire.
171:. Fairlea's grounds and buildings were more spacious than those of the female unit at Pentridge; however many of the buildings were unsatisfactory, dating from the site's time as an asylum in the 1860s.
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and during the course of 1996 the inmates of
Fairlea Prison were transferred across to the new facility. The Metropolitan Women's Correctional Centre was returned to government control in 2000.
643:"Development plan decision improves parkland for Fairfield" (Press release). Offices of the Ministers for Planning and Local Government and Conservation and Land Management. 20 October 1997.
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of the prison system and as a result private contractors won the right to administer the women's prison system. A new privately run prison, the
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Fairlea Women's Prison finally closed in August 1996, with the majority of structures demolished shortly thereafter. The basketball courts,
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Heather Parker – Office of
Corrections worker who aided the escape of prisoners Peter Gibb and Archie Butterly in 1993.
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Within ten years of the rebuilding, a change of
Government led to the demise of Fairlea. The new Liberal Government began the
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were converted for prison use. Prior to the opening of Fairlea, female prisoners had been held in a small section
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were demolished and one of the 1860 gate pillars was relocated to a site opposite the original entry to Fairlea.
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women were quickly caught by prison officers near the prison grounds while two prisoners evaded capture.
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of sections of the prison system, Fairlea was demolished and the site converted to parkland.
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arrived at 8.15 pm the fire was out. No one was killed or injured in the fire.
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Neither Bad Nor Mad: The Competing Discourses of Psychiatry, Law and Politics
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was an Australian female prison located on Yarra Bend Road in the suburb of
150:. The first all-female prison in Victoria, it was built on the site of the
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Cold Tea for Brandy: A Tale of Protest, Painting and Politics
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Bolt, Andrew. State warned in 1978 of Fairlea fire hazard.
521:"Former prison guard back in court on assault charges"
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Fairlea Women's Prison. Fairlea is registered with
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192:, Irene Miller, Jo Maclaine-Cross and Chris Cathie
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389:"Fairlea Women's Prison – Yarra Bend (1856–1996)"
597:Blackhouse, Megan. Woman on trial on jail fire.
709:Prisons and youth detention centres in Victoria
305:. Victoria, Australia. 9 March 1956. p. 10
16:Australian female prison in Victoria, Australia
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618:"Prison Profiles - Dame Phyllis Frost Centre"
484:. Balwyn North: Vulcan Press. pp. 82–87.
8:
51:
357:. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. p. 21.
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567:Two started Fairlea blaze, say witnesses.
537:Fairlea blaze sorts rebels from the rest.
313:– via National Library of Australia.
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280:and given the register number VHR H1552.
955:Youth Justice Facility near Cherry Creek
262:Metropolitan Women's Correctional Centre
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1006:Maximum security prisons in Australia
7:
1011:Defunct women's prisons in Australia
811:Operational facilities for juveniles
495:Encel, Vivien; Sharpe, Alan (1997).
1001:Defunct prisons in Victoria (state)
991:1993 disestablishments in Australia
582:Two planned fire they died in: SM.
843:Nalu at Fulham Correctional Centre
14:
715:Operational facilities for adults
497:Murder! 25 True Australian Crimes
330:. Allen & Unwin. p. 25.
986:1925 establishments in Australia
393:Darebin Historical Encyclopaedia
838:Melbourne Youth Justice Centre
833:Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre
86:Minimum & Maximum security
1:
797:Ravenhall Correctional Centre
996:Defunct prisons in Melbourne
772:Melbourne Assessment Prison
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967:List of Australian prisons
782:Metropolitan Remand Centre
963:
787:Mirallee Reception Centre
659:"Fairlea Womens [
603:: 14 December 1988, p.21.
588:: 23 September 1982, p.5.
428:"Fairfield Heritage Walk"
351:Greig, Deidre N. (2002).
128:Department of Corrections
56:
777:Melbourne Custody Centre
324:Nicholson, John (2006).
184:Vietnam War protesters:
828:Illoura Children's Home
558:: 8 February 1982, p.1.
480:Coxsedge, Joan (2007).
37:37.79082°S 145.010637°E
543:: 9 January 1980, p.4.
461:Cite journal requires
104:9 March 1956
573:: 27 July 1982, p.15.
302:The Argus (Melbourne)
42:-37.79082; 145.010637
874:HM Prison Beechworth
499:. Kingsclear Books.
387:Darebin Libraries.
327:Australia Locked Up
297:"Women in new gaol"
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33: /
948:Planned facilities
732:Dame Phyllis Frost
440:on 21 October 2009
78:Closed, demolished
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852:Closed facilities
655:Heritage Victoria
278:Heritage Victoria
152:Yarra Bend Asylum
136:HM Prison Fairlea
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666:. Retrieved
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626:. Retrieved
622:the original
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182:Fairlea Five
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18:
884:Castlemaine
802:Tarrengower
737:Dhurringile
186:Jean McLean
40: /
28:145°00′38″E
980:Categories
965:See also:
767:Marngoneet
727:Beechworth
284:References
124:Managed by
108:1956-03-09
25:37°47′27″S
919:Pentridge
909:Melbourne
864:Ashendene
266:Deer Park
243:Cell fire
200:Incidents
148:Australia
140:Fairfield
65:Fairfield
939:Won Wron
934:Winlaton
869:Ballarat
859:Allambie
823:Hillside
525:ABC News
309:22 April
144:Victoria
91:Capacity
69:Victoria
61:Location
904:Kilmore
894:Geelong
889:Fairlea
879:Bendigo
818:Acheron
747:Hopkins
600:The Age
585:The Age
570:The Age
555:The Age
540:The Age
252:Closure
106: (
899:J Ward
762:Loddon
742:Fulham
722:Barwon
668:16 May
628:16 May
503:
444:17 May
403:16 May
361:
334:
116:Closed
101:Opened
75:Status
438:(PDF)
431:(PDF)
929:Sale
670:2009
630:2009
501:ISBN
467:help
446:2009
405:2009
359:ISBN
332:ISBN
311:2017
205:Riot
180:The
162:Site
119:1996
661:sic
982::
657:.
616:.
523:.
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456:}}
452:{{
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