Two Guides: Public tours open at Pentridge Prison

Audio feature, May 2023

^{Bluestone meets blue glass at the Pentridge Prison development, May 2023.}
^{Credit: Ruth McHugh-Dillon}

In the first few weeks of Pentridge Prison opening to the public, I talk to two men—both called Chris—about their involvement with the infamous prison in Coburg, Melbourne.

The first Chris is a tour guide employed by the National Trust Victoria, who explains the ‘silent and separate system’ that punished prisoners by depriving them of social and sensory stimulation. At the time, this was seen as a step up from physical punishment, intended to rehabilitate prisoners through reflection and monk-like solitude. But was it effective?

I also talk to Chris Austin, an artist and Keerraaywoorrung / Gunditjmara man, who has lived experience as a former prisoner at Pentridge. He now works as a mentor at the Torch, an organisation that helps to connect First Nations people with art and culture while they’re in jail and after they’re released. He tells me storytelling through art is the way to stay out of jail. A much more effective form of rehabilitation, it seems, than silence and separation.