Site Features

The Chapel

The Chapel
The chapel was built in 1867-1868. All inmates were issued with a bible when they entered Maitland Gaol. Chaplains visited the Gaol to provide spiritual guidance, exhortation and support.

Control Centre
The main gates were the only entry and exit into the Gaol for inmates. Firearms and riot gear were stored in the artillery room. The trap door allowed for quick access.
 

B Wing

B Wing
B Wing housed the most feared inmates and longer-term inmates before the new section was built. B Wing has three landings. The top landing housed the lifers with the middle and lower landings housing sex offenders and segregated inmates. Electricity was installed in the 1970s with running water and toilets installed in 1979. In 1995 B Wing closed following the report of the Nagle Royal Commission into the NSW prison system.

B Wing Exercise Yard

B Wing Exercise Yards
B Wing's exercise yard contains wooden benches and an outside toilet. The second yard has a basketball court and a gymnasium. The red lines on the ground were painted for muster.

The Exercise Field
This area originally held a building that was surrounded by walls. It held female inmates, prison farm inmates and the hospital. The building was demolished and the space used as a football field.
 

Kitchen

Kitchen
Maitland Gaol's food was regarded by many as the best in the state. In the 1800s the current kitchen was originally 2 separate buildings which housed the bathhouse and the morgue. In 1980 it became one building and was fitted out as the kitchen. Working in the kitchen was a prized job. 10-15 well trusted inmates with some cooking skills would cook for the other inmates. These inmates lived in cells above the kitchen.
 

A Wing Cell

A Wing
This is the oldest wing in Maitland Gaol and is where the first 40 inmates were housed. A Wing was the first of the cell blocks opened in 1848. Cell 1 to 4 were for the Sweepers and Painter who would stay in the wing during the day to maintain it. Cell 23 was the Young Offenders Cell, those prisoners aged between 18 and 21 years of age. Cell 12 was where Charles Hines, the last man to be executed, was housed.
 

Segregation Cell

Segregation Cells
These outside cells are called segregation cells and were used as an exercise yard for the inmates of C Wing. Gangs of up to 10 inmates at any one time would be in these cells, regardless of the time of year or weather. Also, prisoners who were kept in segregation cells used these yards for exercise. They were segregated from the rest of the Gaol inmates for their own safety.
 

C Wing

C Wing
This wing originally held female inmates and their young children. In later years it held serious offenders as well as protection and strict protection inmates. These inmates had to be protected against themselves and other inmates in the Gaol, because of the crimes they had committed. Cell 1 is the suicide watch cell. Inmates would be stripped down to their underwear and placed there for 24 hours to make sure that they did not harm themselves.

5 Wing

5 Wing
5 Wing was built in 1993 at a cost of $3.4 million. It was designed to be a high security area for inmates who had committed the most heinous crimes or serious crimes against other inmates. Inmates here had no social contact with anyone. They were confined to their own cells and released for only an hour each day into their own exercise yard that contained a shower. The clinic at the back was known as the drying out cell for inmates who had swallowed drugs or razor blades.

1 Tower

The Towers
By 1863, six watch towers were built at Maitland Gaol. These towers were originally staffed 24 hours a day. This ceased with the introduction of razor wire, electronic fences, sensor systems and video surveillance cameras. Tower duty was the most tedious job within the prison system. It was a 5 hour shift during which warders were not allowed to read, write or do anything that may distract them from their jobs.
 

Visit's Centre

The Visit's Centre
Visitors had to show ID, be photographed and fingerprinted before passing through a metal detector. Visitors were also physically searched if they were suspected of carrying contraband. The same process took place on the way out. Before visits, inmates would put a special suit on over their underwear. It had a zip at the back and ties at the neck, wrist and ankles to stop contraband being hidden. Contact visits took place in the open seated area.