Yetta Dhinnakkal Centre

Last updated

Yetta Dhinnakkal Centre
Yetta Dhinnakkal Centre
Location Brewarrina, New South Wales
Coordinates 30°21′03″S146°53′28″E / 30.350835°S 146.891024°E / -30.350835; 146.891024
StatusClosed
Security classMinimum
Opened2000 [1]
Managed by Corrective Services NSW

Yetta Dhinnakkal Centre, also known as the Brewarrina (Yetta Dhinnakkal) Centre, Brewarrina Correctional Centre and Brewarrina Prison, and referred to informally as Brewarrina jail, was an Australian minimum security prison for young Indigenous Australian men. It was located in Gongolgon, approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Brewarrina, New South Wales. The centre was operated by Corrective Services NSW, an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice, of the Government of New South Wales, until its closure in mid-2020. Many of its inmates were first offenders, and the centre offered various types of educational opportunities, in particular farming skills. [2] [3]

Contents

Yetta dhinnakkal is a phrase in the Ngemba language meaning "the right pathway". [2]

Facilities

In response to the rising number of Indigenous men being incarcerated in New South Wales prisons, Corrective Services NSW purchased a remote cattle station around 2000 and transformed it into an outdoor prison, without walls, bars, armed guards, or electric fences. [4] Located on 10,553 hectares (26,080 acres) and opened in 2000, the centre was a working farming property, maintained by inmates under officer supervision and guided by elders. The centre's behavioural change programs targeted first-time young Aboriginal offenders aged from 18 to 25, through culturally relevant intensive case management. Vocational training courses were offered in information technology, horticulture, construction, visual arts and contemporary craft. [5] [6] Other practical skills, including small motor maintenance, welding, road sealing, building skills, literacy and numeracy and first aid are also provided. [7]

The reoffending rate in 2004 was assessed at 20 per cent, compared with 40 per cent across NSW. [1] In 2005/2006, the centre was awarded the Gold Award at the NSW Premier's Public Sector Awards in the Social Justice Category. [7]

In January 2011, the centre was isolated by flooding waters affecting northern NSW and Queensland. [8] During April 2011, there were five separate escapes from the minimum security centre. [6]

The closure of the centre was announced in mid-2019, planned for 2020. [2] [3] Ownership of the site was split between the local Aboriginal land council and the Brewarrina Shire Council. Orana Haven was planning to lease the Shire's land and facilities for use as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre from sometime during 2021. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Bay Correctional Centre</span> Building

The Long Bay Correctional Complex, commonly called Long Bay, is a correctional facility comprising a heritage-listed maximum and minimum security prison for males and females and a hospital to treat prisoners, psychiatric cases and remandees, located in Malabar, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The complex is located approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of the Sydney CBD and is contained within a 32-hectare (79-acre) site. The facility is operated by Corrective Services New South Wales, a department administered by the Government of New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grafton Correctional Centre</span> Heritage-listed building in New South Wales, Australia

The former Grafton Gaol, later called the Grafton Correctional Centre and then Grafton Intake and Transient Centre is a heritage-listed former medium security prison for males and females, located in Grafton, Clarence Valley Council, New South Wales, Australia. The centre was operated by Corrective Services NSW an agency of the Department of Attorney General and Justice of the Government of New South Wales. In its last correctional use, the centre detained sentenced and remand prisoners under New South Wales and/or Commonwealth legislation. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

Broken Hill Correctional Centre, formerly Broken Hill Gaol, is an Australian minimum and medium security prison for men and women located in Broken Hill, New South Wales, around 1,190 km (740 mi) from Sydney. Opened in 1892, it is the fourth-oldest prison still in operation in NSW.

Kirkconnell Correctional Centre, an Australian minimum security prison for males, is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Bathurst, New South Wales.

Oberon Correctional Centre is an Australian minimum security prison for young male offenders located in Gurnang, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Oberon, New South Wales. The centre is operated by Corrective Services NSW an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice of the Government of New South Wales. The centre detains sentenced offenders under New South Wales and/or Commonwealth legislation.

Junee Correctional Centre is a prison in Junee, Australia, operated by GEO Group Australia under a contract with the Government of New South Wales. The prison houses sentenced male inmates with a maximum, medium or minimum security classification, along with a small number of female remand inmates in transit to other locations. The centre has a capacity of 1200.

Parklea Correctional Centre, a privately managed Australian maximum and minimum security prison for males, is located at Parklea, in the north-western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. The facility is operated by MTC Ventia and has a current capacity for 1,350 inmates. The Centre accepts prisoners charged and convicted under New South Wales and/or Commonwealth legislation and incorporates a minimum-security work-release centre for inmates nearing release with a capacity of 120. A Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional unit is incorporated within the centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goulburn Correctional Centre</span> Building

The Goulburn Correctional Centre, is an Australian supermaximum security prison for males. It is located in Goulburn, New South Wales, three kilometres north-east of the central business district. The facility is operated by Corrective Services NSW. The Complex accepts prisoners charged and convicted under New South Wales and/or Commonwealth legislation and serves as a reception prison for Southern New South Wales, and, in some cases, for inmates from the Australian Capital Territory.

St Heliers Correctional Centre is a prison farm for men located outside the town of Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia, and operated by the Corrective Services division of the Department of Communities and Justice. St Heliers generally holds prisoners serving sentences under State or Australian criminal law and has a capacity of 256.

Lithgow Correctional Centre is a prison near Lithgow, Australia, operated by Corrective Services NSW, an agency of the New South Wales state government. The prison houses sentenced male inmates with a maximum security classification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverwater Correctional Complex</span> Prison in New South Wales, Australia

The Silverwater Correctional Complex, an Australian maximum and minimum security prison complex for males and females, is located in Silverwater, 21 km (13 mi) west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The complex is operated by Corrective Services NSW, an agency of the New South Wales Government Department of Communities and Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parramatta Correctional Centre</span> Building

The Parramatta Correctional Centre is a heritage-listed former medium security prison for males on the corner of O'Connell and Dunlop Streets, North Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was in operation between 1798 and 2011. The centre was initially called Parramatta Gaol until its name was changed to Parramatta Correctional Centre in 1992. When in operation, the centre was managed by Corrective Services NSW, an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice of the Government of New South Wales. Immediately prior to its closure, the centre detained short term sentenced and remand inmates, operated as a transient centre, and was the periodic detention centre for metropolitan Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathurst Correctional Centre</span> Building

Bathurst Correctional Centre, originally built as Bathurst Gaol in 1888, is a prison for men and women located in the city of Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, and operated by the Department of Communities and Justice. Bathurst holds inmates sentenced under State or Australian criminal law, along with a small number of remand prisoners.

Francis Greenway Correctional Complex, formerly John Morony Correctional Complex is an Australian minimum security prison complex for males and females located in Berkshire Park, 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Windsor in New South Wales, Australia. The complex is operated by Corrective Services NSW, an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice, of the Government of New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooma Correctional Centre</span> Prison in New South Wales, Australia

Cooma Correctional Centre, an Australian minimum to medium prison for males, is located in Cooma, New South Wales. The centre is operated by Corrective Services NSW an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice of the Government of New South Wales. The centre detains sentenced prisoners and persons on remand under New South Wales and/or Commonwealth legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berrima Correctional Centre</span> New South Wales prison

The Berrima Correctional Centre was an Australian prison, located at Berrima, New South Wales. The Centre was operational between 1839 and 2011 with a number of breaks in between, was re-opened in September 2016 and then permanently closed in 2020. Initially established as Berrima Gaol, the facility closed in 1909 and reopened in 1949 as the Berrima Training Centre. The Centre was the oldest Australian correctional facility in operation. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brewarrina</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Brewarrina is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. The name Brewarrina is derived from 'burru waranha', a Weilwan name for a species of Acacia, Cassia tree, "Acacia clumps", "a native standing" or "place where wild gooseberry grows". It is 96 kilometres (60 mi) east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, and 787 km from Sydney. The population of Brewarrina in 2016 was 1,143. Other towns and villages in the Brewarrina district include: Goodooga, Gongolgon, Weilmoringle and Angledool.

Corrective Services New South Wales (CSNSW) is a division of the Department of Communities and Justice of the Government of New South Wales, Australia. CSNSW is responsible for the state's prisons and a range of programs for managing offenders in the community. The state has 36 prisons, 33 run by CSNSW and three privately operated. The agency traces its origins back to 1788, when New South Wales was founded as a penal colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punishment in Australia</span>

Punishment in Australia arises when an individual has been accused or convicted of breaking the law through the Australian criminal justice system. Australia uses prisons, as well as community corrections. When awaiting trial, prisoners may be kept in specialised remand centres or within other prisons.

References

  1. 1 2 Pearlman, Jonathan (17 August 2004). "Freedom in a prison with boundaries, but no walls". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Cross, Hannah (15 November 2019). "Successful community prison set to close mid-2020". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 Davies, Jessie (19 October 2019). "Brewarrina jail is closing and the community warns it will have a devastating effect". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  4. ↑ Lee, Tim (11 July 2010). "Don't Fence Me In" (transcript). Landline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 28 December 2018. (Note: updated url since the original one was dead, to a republished version; however, (as of 1 July 2021) the incorrect date (Thu 4 Apr 2019) is displayed. Following up.)
  5. ↑ "Brewarrina (Yetta Dhinnakkal) Centre". Correctional Services NSW. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Break-out at Brewarrina: Region on lookout for escapees". The Northern Daily Leader. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. 1 2 "NSW Corrections and Indigenous people: Annual Reports". Australian Prisons Project. University of New South Wales. 2005. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "Goodooga prepared for lengthy isolation". ABC News. Australia. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "Ivanhoe and Brewarrina correction facilities repurposed". Condobolin Argus. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.