37°47′27″S 145°00′38″E / 37.79082°S 145.010637°E
 | |
| Location | Fairfield, Victoria |
|---|---|
| Status | Closed, demolished |
| Security class | Minimum & Maximum security |
| Capacity | 60 (1956–1982) 106 (1986–1996) |
| Opened | 9 March 1956[1] |
| Closed | 1996 |
| Managed by | Department of Corrections |
HM Prison Fairlea was an Australian female prison located on Yarra Bend Road in the suburb of Fairfield, Victoria, Australia.[2] The first all-female prison in Victoria, it was built on the site of the Yarra Bend Asylum,[3] with remnants of the walls and gates being used in the layout of the prison. In 1982 a deliberately lit fire led to the deaths of three inmates. The rebuilt and expanded prison reopened in 1986. After closing in 1996 due to privatisation of sections of the prison system, Fairlea was demolished and the site converted to parkland.
- ^ "Women in new gaol". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 9 March 1956. p. 10. Retrieved 22 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Nicholson, John (2006). Australia Locked Up. Allen & Unwin. p. 25. ISBN 1-74114-609-7.
- ^ Greig, Deidre N. (2002). Neither Bad Nor Mad: The Competing Discourses of Psychiatry, Law and Politics. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. p. 21. ISBN 1-84310-006-1.