PRISON PLOT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 37, 13 February 1934, Page 5

PRISON PLOT.

NEW GOVERNOR. i I RINGLEADERS SURPRISED. TRANSFER AT SHORT NOTICE. i (Prom Our Own Correspondent.) ! SYDNEY, February 6. 1 A few weeks ago it became known to the inhabitants of Parramatta Gaol that 1 tho governor, Mr. McGoldrick, who had i been in charge of the institution for . many years, was to retire, and that he was to be succeeded by Mr. O'Conor, who had been in control of one of the I country gaols at Bathurst. The Parramatta Gaol houses a large proportion of our most desperate and I dangerous criminals, many of whom have been committed for vicious assault, robbery, garrotting and general savagery. Men of this type are always prepared to "try out" those in charge of them; but in the case of Governor McGoldrick, a resolute and experienced man, their experiments had not been successful. Many of the "old hands" had tried in vain to secure from him some of tho privileges extended to prisoners in the country gaols, where, because the inmates can get few visitors and have generally a less comfortable time, the rigidity of prison discipline is often slightly relaxed. The news that the new governor was from the country induced the "old hands" in Parramatta to believe that they could safely "try it on" with him. But, fortunately for himself and the gaol, Mr. O'Conor is a wise and wary tactician, and he was quite prepared for them. Before Mr. McGoldrick left, some of the warders heard—for a gaol is a great "whispering gallery"—that six of the most dangerous men in Parramatta meant to petition the new governor fo.t A-oumber,

of extremely generous concessions, and that if, as they expected, he refused them, this tos to be a signal for a violent outbreak among tlie prisoners. Desperate Criminals. It is not clear whether these men actually contemplated violence to the extent of preparing weapons and using them, but these six ringleaders are notorious and desperate criminals—one a gangster with many convictions for violence, another a bank robber who had threatened the lives of the bank clerks— and they were all serving sentences of from four to seven years. At all events they expected to secure the aid of 200 to 300 prisoners, and with their help either to overcome the new governor and compel him to grant their request, or, if he refused, to cause so much trouble that it would be impossible for him to maintain discipline or keep the gaol under control. Previous experience of such outbreaks indicates that there would have been a concerted attempt to do as much damage as possible inside the gaol before this outburst of violence could be checked; and the gaol officials believe that if the plot had succeeded many thousands of pounds' worth of machinery would have been dismantled and destroyed in the bakehouses and the tinsmith, broom-making and bootmaking shops, where the "inside" men are largely employed. Swift Action. However, none of those things happened. Mr. O'Conor took over his office on a Tuesday, and late that night lie paid visits to the cells of the rinseleaders. A visit at such an hour in oaol almost always means a "transfer," luid sure enough, when the cell doors were opened, the governor informed the inmates that they were to start at once for an unknown destination. Out into the night they went, escorted by armed warders — three of them bound for Bathurst, three for Maitland, and the | next morning the conspirators left in the gaol found themselves outwitted, leaderless, and impotent. A few of them who were most deeply involved in the plot were confined to their cells or put on bread and water for a few days. But the new governor, who has been dealing with criminals for many years, was far too judicious to adopt extreme measures, and the latest intelligence from Parramatta is that the gaol has been quite peaceful'-and orderly ever since Mr. O'Conor arrived.