WOODEN CLUB
1988Long, thin, wooden club, made from a single piece of broken rectangular timber with uneven edges and notches on the surface. Three sides of the club have remnants of light pink paint on the surface. Some sticky tape has been glued to one of the sides of the timber. Around one end of the timber is wrapped a piece of dark green, thick, cotton fabric, likely from a prisoner uniform. A dark green, woven sock has been placed over the fabric, covering the end of the club.
This makeshift weapon was discovered during the Prosecution team's visit to Fremantle Prison after the January 1988 riot. It was used as evidence against the ringleaders charged over the riot and resulting fire. This club is accompanied by its evidence tag from this court case (1995.475.2). The club and evidence tag were returned to Fremantle Prison after the trial. This club was probably made by rioting prisoners by tearing material from the exercise yard furniture, fixtures and/or fittings, and creating a handle from the torn fabric of their uniforms.
The accompanying evidence tag (1995.475.2) for this object was located by volunteer Laura Connell in the ORS files in the Research Library, along with the printed data sheet for the club. The tag had previously been accessioned, however it had not been entered into Mosaic.
Details
Details
The 1988 riot at Fremantle Prison was the most damaging in the institution’s history. Instigated in response to the Prison’s archaic conditions, the high summer temperatures and general boredom were also contributing factors.
At 3:30pm on 4 January, prisoners in 3 Division yard stormed into the Main Cell Bock. Using improvised weapons and boiling water they took five officers’ hostage and stole their keys. The prisoners lit fires, using newspapers, cell furniture and fuel from the Prison’s lawnmower which they had been secretly stockpiling. The flames reached the roof, which eventually collapsed in 4 Division.
The riot lasted into the next day, when the hostages were released after 18 hours. Whilst there were some serious injuries, no one was killed. The estimated damage bill to the Prison was between $1.5 and $2 million. The instigators of the riot were separated from the prison population in the newly established Special Handling Unit.
Two weeks later, prisoners at Fremantle went on hunger strike, calling for a public inquiry into the conditions at the Prison and to protest the withdrawal of their privileges. An inquiry was held in February and was highly critical of the Prison’s outdated facilities. The government began plans for a new prison, and Fremantle finally closed in November 1991, 80 years after its closure was recommended in the 1911 Royal Commission. It was superseded by the new maximum-security prison at Casuarina.
