Parramatta Correctional Centre

 

 

^{Parramatta Correctional Centre is located in North Parramatta. Parramatta Correctional Center was initially known as Parramatta Gaol and the name was changed in 1992. It was operated between 1798 and 2011. It was a medium security prison for males.}

^{First correctional facilities were first established in Parramatta in 1798 housing eight prisoners. In 1799 this facility was destroyed by a fire. It was rebuilt in 1802. A more substantial stone structure was built between 1837 and 1843 by James Houison and Nathaniel Payten on the North Parramatta site.}

^{Parramatta Gaol was formally proclaimed on 2 January 1842. It was closed in 1918 and was used as a mental hospital. In 1922, the centre became a major industrial prison with inmates working in various fields like tailoring, bookmaking, carpentry, tin making and bakery. In 2004, there were calls for the centre to be closed after two inmates escaped by scaling the prison wall using ladders without being seen by guards.}

^{In 1980, Australian rock band Cold Chisel recorded the song "Tomorrow", on their album East. The song portrays the desperation of a Parramatta Gaol inmate on a life sentence who escaped three days earlier, and is facing imminent recapture.}

^“Tomorrow

^{Into the nightside, the city rolls
Rivers of light, a million souls
I’m three days out of Parramatta jail
City of hearts is out of control
Newspaper men are using my name
They hold the power, I hold the blame”}

^{Prior to its closure on 9 October 2011, Parramatta Correctional Centre was Australia's oldest serving correctional Centre. Corrective Services NSW have not determined the future use of the property.}

^{During 2012 the Parramatta corrective centre was used for the setting of a film, The Convict. Two very famous television series Home and Away and Underbelly are also filled there.}