Two Riots at Parklea Prison
There were two major riots at Parklea Prison during the time Mr Michael Kay worked there. The first was 13th December 1987 and the second 23rd September 1990. Prison riots are horrible and extremely dangerous situations to be in. They normally involve prisoners partaking in alcohol and or drugs and as a result, they are unpredictable and do not consider the consequences of their actions.
During the first riot it seems four prisoners were drunk on a gaol brew, made mainly from fruit and sugar, thanks to the Nagel Royal Commission’s introduction of additional quantities of these rations for all prisoners, and it spread rapidly from there. On seeing five prisoners bash Prison Officer Christopher Holmes to the ground, Prison Officer Robert Jarvis rushed to his fellow officer’s aid. He was struck several times on the head and lay on the ground unconscious. Once he had regained consciousness, his first memory was being surrounded by 15 other prison officers, all of whom had barricaded themselves in a wing.
There were now 40 or 50 prisoners involved, armed with iron bars, threatening to kill these brave officers who feared for their lives, not surprisingly all believing they would be killed as they were seriously outnumbered by the rampaging prisoners. Being unarmed they were unable to effectively defend themselves. They believed they were destined to die. A large number of prison officer’s sustained injuries during this horrendous critical incident.
In addition to the officers barricaded in a wing, there were two further officers who were trapped in the office on 3 Wing bottom landing; one was First Class Prison Officer Ian Hall whom I knew from my days working at Parklea Prison, and the other was a relatively junior officer. It must have been mortifying for these two officers realising that the crims had smashed the glass windows that had surrounded the office. They only had bars that barely covered the windows to protect them from being taken hostage by the erupting prisoners. Without warning, a prisoner walked into the kitchen directly behind and next to the office, in full view of Mr Hall and his partner. The crim placed oil and water on the stove to boil in readiness to tip over these defenceless officers holed up in the wing.
To read more about these horrific prison riots and to view more unpublished photographs, read my latest eBook, Australia’s Best Prison Stories, available on Amazon.
This I believe.
Peter T Egge
There were two major riots at Parklea Prison during the time Mr Michael Kay worked there. The first was 13th December 1987 and the second 23rd September 1990. Prison riots are horrible and extremely dangerous situations to be in. They normally involve prisoners partaking in alcohol and or drugs and as a result, they are unpredictable and do not consider the consequences of their actions.
During the first riot it seems four prisoners were drunk on a gaol brew, made mainly from fruit and sugar, thanks to the Nagel Royal Commission’s introduction of additional quantities of these rations for all prisoners, and it spread rapidly from there. On seeing five prisoners bash Prison Officer Christopher Holmes to the ground, Prison Officer Robert Jarvis rushed to his fellow officer’s aid. He was struck several times on the head and lay on the ground unconscious. Once he had regained consciousness, his first memory was being surrounded by 15 other prison officers, all of whom had barricaded themselves in a wing.
There were now 40 or 50 prisoners involved, armed with iron bars, threatening to kill these brave officers who feared for their lives, not surprisingly all believing they would be killed as they were seriously outnumbered by the rampaging prisoners. Being unarmed they were unable to effectively defend themselves. They believed they were destined to die. A large number of prison officer’s sustained injuries during this horrendous critical incident.
In addition to the officers barricaded in a wing, there were two further officers who were trapped in the office on 3 Wing bottom landing; one was First Class Prison Officer Ian Hall whom I knew from my days working at Parklea Prison, and the other was a relatively junior officer. It must have been mortifying for these two officers realising that the crims had smashed the glass windows that had surrounded the office. They only had bars that barely covered the windows to protect them from being taken hostage by the erupting prisoners. Without warning, a prisoner walked into the kitchen directly behind and next to the office, in full view of Mr Hall and his partner. The crim placed oil and water on the stove to boil in readiness to tip over these defenceless officers holed up in the wing.
The rampaging rioting prisoners caused three million dollars worth of damage at the
New South Wales tax payers’ expense
To read more about these horrific prison riots and to view more unpublished photographs, read my latest eBook, Australia’s Best Prison Stories, available on Amazon.
This I believe.
Peter T Egge
