Collingwood Stockade
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Collingwood Stockade was a penal stockade in modern day Carlton North, Victoria, Australia. It was built in 1853 and was in use until 1866 when it was converted into an asylum, which then closed in 1873. The stockade no longer exists but the area has several reminders of it, including the Stockade Hotel on Nicholson Street and Lee St School which is built on the site of the old stockade buildings.
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[edit] Stockade
One of four stockades in the Melbourne area at the time, Collingwood Stockade opened in February 1853. Originally built to house 60 prisoners, it was only ever intended as a temporary structure and was constructed of wood, which made life somewhat easier for prisoners who wished to escape. The buildings initially comprised a main hall with three dormitories, although extra wings and bluestone buildings were added later, and by 1855 it could house 300 prisoners. The stockade was on six acres of grounds bordered by what are now Newry Street to the north, Princes Street to the south, Canning Street to the east and Rathdowne Street to the west. Prisoners could obtain remission of their sentences by working in the bluestone quarry in what is now Curtain Square, or by attending educational classes and Sunday school.
[edit] Asylum
Demand for land and public animosity toward the stockade led to its closure. All prisoners were transferred to the new prison at Pentridge, and in August 1866 the stockade became an asylum, initially for mentally ill prisoners from other jails, and then as a public asylum with both short- and long-term wards. However, the establishment of two new asylums in 1868 meant that Collingwood Asylum changed purpose to solely house mentally disabled patients. During this time the suburb of Carlton was created and the name changed to Carlton Lunatic Asylum. In 1873 all patients were transferred to the new asylum at Kew and the Carlton building closed.
[edit] School
The Carlton Stockade School opened in July 1873 with 276 pupils, on the site of the present school in Lee St. The school was only ever intended to be temporary as the buildings were in a poor state of repair, and were replaced by the existing school buildings in 1878, and in 1879 the school changed its name to Lee Street State School. The present day school has a bluestone slab thought to have been part of the entrance to the original stockade, with the initials MHS belonging to M. H. Smith, a superintendent at the stockade.
[edit] External links
- http://www.unimelb.edu.au/infoserv/lee/htm/passages.htm
- http://www.access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/component/daPublicBaseContainer?component=daViewAgency&entityId=2851
- http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/carltonnorth.html
- http://www.unimelb.edu.au/infoserv/lee/history_site/html/Then_Now_The_Stockade.html
