An Explosive History: Bombings at Pentridge Prison

‘A Division’ of Pentridge prison is a large, cross shaped building built of locally quarried bluestone. Located up in the north-eastern corner of the site, between Success Lane and Moonering Street, it overlooks the northern boundary of the site, defined by the wall that runs along Murray Road. On the ground floor, in the south-western corner of the building, is cell number 51. This cell was the site of an incident towards the end of the operational life of Pentridge, that remains controversial to this day.

At about 3:30pm in the afternoon of Thursday, 10 April 1980, four prisoners were sitting on a bed inside this cell (“Search Uncovers”, 1980; Richards, 1980a). They were Neil Ronald Bugg, serving a life sentence for murder; Ross Anthony Burleigh, serving 10 years for burglary; and Donald James Marshall and John William Palmer, sentenced to 10 year and 5 year sentences respectively for armed robbery (“Explosion Inside Pentridge”, 1980).

As the men were talking, an explosion ripped through the cell with a roar and that could be heard and felt throughout the grounds. A bomb had been planted underneath the bed and triggered by remote control. Allegedly this was done from Champ Street, just the other side of the prison walls and less than a hundred metres from the location of cell 51.

There was no hospital on the grounds of Pentridge at the time (although a newer modern hospital building was completed on the site of the apartments now facing industry lane not long after). All four men were instead taken to the locked ward at St Vincent’s Hospital, suffering from injuries such as burns and perforated ear drums (“Explosion”, 1980). All later recovered from their wounds, and it was believed that the mattress absorbed most of the blast, saving the men from potentially much more serious harm.

Extensive searches were conducted over the next days and weeks, using police and army bomb squad members with sniffer dogs (“Gelignite Sticks Found”, 1980; “Bomb in Jail”, 1980). Further caches of explosives, later determined to be gelignite, were found in the radio room of J Division, the young offenders group buildings that used to exist to the north of A Division, and in other places within A Division (“Bomb”, 1980).

Initially it was suspected that the device was made from materials available inside the prison. Speaking anonymously at the time, a prison officer said, “Some of the boys in here are pretty smart, and the materials are available in the jail to put together a pretty decent sort of bomb” (“All Their”, 1980). Whether they were talking about improvised devices using things like fertilizer or chemicals, or whether commercial explosives such as gelignite were actually stored in the prison for some reason, is unclear.

Whatever the source of the materials, the fact the other explosives found were not connected to detonators or any other kind of bomb mechanism (“Gelignite”, 1980) does imply that the bomb was constructed inside Pentridge, possibly from materials smuggled in from the outside. Walter Jona, Minister for Community Welfare Services, was unable to offer any explanation for how the bomb making materials got inside the jail (“Gelignite”, 1980).

In fact, journalist David Richards claimed that Mr Jona had been warned six weeks before the blast that explosives were being smuggled in (Richards, 1980a). In an article written for The Bulletin, Richards claimed that Jona had admitted he ‘had a problem in Pentridge’ with security and contraband making its way over the walls, figuratively and literally. Richards further stated that the other explosive materials were found because of information provided by him. Perhaps most explosively, Richards also said he had provided Jona with documentation and lists of names of warders who were alleged to have smuggled in explosives, firearms, and drugs. These warders were further  alleged to have been meeting with known criminal figures outside the jail (Richards, 1980a).

The outcome of these allegations is uncertain.

The fallout from this incident appears to have been minor –  given that a bomb going off inside a prison would probably be one of the more notable occurrences in the Pentridge’s 147-year history. But it appears to have swiftly disappeared from the news cycle. Changes to security were soon made, including the establishment of the prison’s own dog squad (“Pentridge Jail”, 1980), and the introduction of metal detectors at entry ways (Richards, 1980b), but if anyone was ever found to be responsible, it never made the headlines.

Likewise, a motive for the bombing was never officially established. The actual resident of cell 51 was convicted bank robber Ian John Britten. Britten was in the shower at the time of the explosion, although this of course would not have been known to anyone outside the walls of A Division. If he – or any of the inmates who were in his cell at the time – had a reason to be targeted, no information has ever come to light.

Over the years there have been claims of responsibility from certain groups, and involvement alleged by others. These range from the far-fetched, such as targeting Jona specifically by prison rights activists (Pierce, 1985), to the more plausible, such as power plays between criminal organisations like members of the infamous Painters and Dockers Union. There are no doubt people who know more about this, but for now, this surprisingly less well-known incident in the history of Pentridge Prison still remains a mystery.

However, there is a postscript to this story. Several former inmates have told guides on staff about Pentridge being rocked by another series of explosions, either months later or possibly as late as 1983. Obviously, with this serious security breach fresh in the memories of many, the prison was immediately put into serious lockdown until the source of the explosions was found. No doubt much relief was felt when the location of these detonations was traced to the farmland on the eastern part of the site. And the source? Several secret whiskey stills the prisoners had buried!

This article was written by Damien, a National Trust Guide at Pentridge Prison Tours.

Acknowledgements

All their own work. (1980, 29 April). The Bulletin 100(5209), 133.

Bomb in Jail. (1980, 15 April). The Canberra Times, 3.

Explosion inside Pentridge cell. (1980, 11 April). The Canberra Times, 3.

Gelignite sticks found in Pentridge jail. (1980, 9 May). The Canberra Times, 3.

Pentridge jail to get dog squad. (1980, 14 April). The Canberra Times, 7.

Pierce, L. (1985, 31 May). Wiser in reflection. The Australian Jewish News, 28.

Search uncovers more explosives in jail. (1980, 12 April). The Canberra Times, 3.

Richards, D. (1980a, 22 April). Minister told of explosives weeks before jail blast. The Bulletin 100(5208), 22.

Richards, D. (1980b), 29 April). New security measures at Pentridge. The Bulletin 100(5209), 30.

The author also acknowledges fellow Pentridge Prison Tours Guide Declan for first sharing the story.