REDRUTH GAOL: In the town of Burra

Burra's now a quiet heritage town with ample evidence of the wealth generated at what was one of the largest mining operations in the world. However, the initial shortage of Cornish miners didn't allow the owners to be selective about the workforce. With tales of some miners earning up to five guineas per week, the steady flow of men and women to the mid-north town quickly became a flood. Without a police force or Resident Magistrate to enforce the law, the drinking rate rose as rapidly as the population. Sly grog shops were a feature of what was then Australia's largest inland town.

And it's important to remember that until 1880 the legal minimum drinking age was just 12 years. Even more conducive to Burra's intemperate habits were the colony's hotel hours - 5.00am until 11.00pm on weekdays. Little wonder then that this place developed a fearsome reputation, with "the drink" the commonest cause of crime during the life of the mine. All of which meant that many were soon spending their time "at her Majesty's pleasure" in the Redruth Gaol.

It was built in 1856 at a cost of more than three thousand pounds and by the look of it, it was built to last. For the 30 male and female inmates, housed in adjoining yards, this was a loathsome place. Now sightseers beat a path to its door, keen to experience life on the inside.

"And why did they build it here at Burra?"

"Well it was a pretty lawless sort of place at the time. It was mainly alcohol and being miners, they decided they liked "the drink" so uhmm, yer it was a pretty lawless sort of place. And it was the first country jail outside of Adelaide in South Australia".

For a time it was known as "Perry's Hotel" after the first jailer Thomas Perry. He was lucky enough to have a view to the paddocks beyond. Redruth Gaol was set back from the mine and the town, well outside any possible mining claims. The fact that they dubbed it a "hotel" reflects the ironic humour which the hardened Cornish miners brought to this part of the State.

"What were the conditions like in Winter and Summer?"

"In winter it has been known to snow, so very, very cold. Very cold".

The building closed as a jail in 1894 and for a short time was home to the Wollacott family. It opened three years later as the Redruth Girls Reformatory. Thirty girls - the "incorrigibles" from other institutions in Adelaide were sent up here and they certainly made their presence felt.

"Funnily enough the only ones to ever escape from the gaol I believe, were the girls. They had a number of escapes. Finally in 1922 there was a riot and they decided that was it - that stone walls a jail doesn't make".

But it did make the perfect backdrop for some of the scenes in the SA Film Corporations' 1979 film Breaker Morant. Now what was once a Gaol, private residence, reformatory and film set is open to us all as part of the Burra Passport Key Trail. You can pick up a key at the town's visitor centre. Passport Key Trail $15.00 per adult, $11.00 per concession. Burra Visitor Centre, 2 Market Square, Burra. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards.sa.com.au