Security class Medium Security Managed by Corrections Victoria Capacity 85 | Closed 2006 Opened 1863 | |
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Location Bendigo, Victoria, Victoria Similar Old Kil Gaol, HM Prison Geelong, Melbourne Youth Justice C, Old Castlemaine Gaol, J Ward | ||
HM Prison Bendigo was a medium security prison facility located in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. The prison provided accommodation for prisoners assessed as suitable for treatment in the area of substance abuse and addictive/compulsive behaviours. The prison was opened in 1863 after building began in the 1850s. A major refurbishment which included sewering each cell was undertaken in 1993-94. Accommodation was mostly in single cells, with a small number of shared cells.
The prison was officially closed on 5 January 2006 by Corrections Minister Tim Holding. [1].
On 17 April 2015 the prison was reopened as the 1000 seat theatre for the Bendigo community, ulumbarra.
Bendigo Prison’s Learning Centre siege
On August 20, 1987 John Dixon-Jenkins with a bomb around his neck took nine staff members hostage for over 46 hours in the prison library. One of the hostage Ms Kruytbosch has finally made her story public to the Bendigo weekly. [2]