40 years ago, Dean King left Boggo Road Gaol for the last time. Today, he returns to share his story with Gaol Director Jack Sim and to launch his self-published biography ‘King Hit’. Dean was a prisoner in the tumultuous 1980s and witnessed some of the biggest events in Boggo Road Gaol history. However, time spent locked up in Boggo Road Gaol is only part of his remarkable story. WARNING -  Graphic Content – MA15+ -  Prison life is full of hard hitting and sometimes confronting subject matter.  This episode of BOGGO contains material that may be offensive to some listeners. We strongly recommend that it be listened to by MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY.

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KING HIT - Former Prisoner Dean King

Tuesday, The 17th of September 2019 marks 60 years since notorious cat-burglar and jail-breaker Arthur Halliday, better known as Slim, made his last major escape attempt. Halliday, already a house-hold name for two successful escapes in the 1940s, was serving life imprisonment in Boggo Road Jail for the dreadful murder of a taxi-driver at Currumbin in 1952. The victim had been killed by blows to the head from the butt of a Colt .45 calibre handgun. In a struggle when arrested in Sydney, where he had fled after learning police discovered he had been living on the Coast, Halliday was shot in the leg by the same model gun that he had in his possession. Detectives swore he admitted to the murder; Halliday claimed senior police framed him.

Soap Gun Escape Anniversary

Cyril James MacIntosh was perhaps one of the most frequent prisoners in gaols all over the eastern side of Australia. His remarkably habitual career as a celebrated bogus doctor graced Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Known by at least seventeen aliases and with at least forty charges to his name, the question remains: was he simply mischievous, malevolent or completely mad?

Mischievous Malevolent or Mad? Cyril James MacIntosh

Three young men; each of them out of work and down on their luck broached the big lights of Brisbane for a change in their fortunes. Three days and a short voyage later their trip to Brisbane would end in salvation for one and for the other two a twelve month stay in a hell hole. “The Reverse Escape” is a thrilling edge of your seat drama from beginning to end.

The Reverse Escape

“From Boggo Road to Marry & Back to 10 Year Sentence” A story from the Headlines of the Truth Newspaper on the 10th of December 1939, tells the remarkable story of prisoner John Daniel Robertson who was given the extraordinary permission to marry while under sentence of ten years at HM Prison Mens Brisbane (colloquially known as Boggo Road Gaol).

From Boggo to Marry

In number 3 yard, in two division Boggo Road Gaol there is a piece of graffiti on the wall of F wing cell block - Gentleman Joe. Written in paint and about 20cm high, it is certainly unmissable. Just who Gentleman Joe was has long been shrouded in mystery. Join Gaol Director Jack Sim and Research Coordinator Sue Olsen as they uncover the identity of Gentleman Joe.

Gentleman Joe

Young women of poor origins quite frequently found themselves falling afoul of the law. Her Majesty’s Prison for Women Brisbane at Boggo Road was where most of these women ended up. Maria O'Rourke was among the poorest of the poor and she did what she had to do to survive - steal. 

A Female Burglar – Maria O’Rourke

Prisoners often cause themselves harm to escape the confines of gaol, if only for a short time. In the 1970s a new era of prisoners were in Boggo Road Gaol, with them came new methods of injuring themselves and others. Gaol Director Jack Sim and Research Coordinator Sue Olsen discuss an important discovery in a 1974 newspaper.

From the Headlines – 4 more prisoners swallow wire

Gaol Director Jack Sim and Sue Olsen discuss the upcoming launch of the Male Division Prison Players from the 1970s era at Boggo Road Gaol; The important steps being taken in obtaining items to represent prisoners and officers of that time as accurately as possible and some recent acquisitions.

Prison Players - Male Division

Boggo Road Gaol is hardly a place you could imagine that a State School would be. However, in 1948 that’s exactly where there was one was opened. Under the tutaledge of an experienced Brisbane State High School teacher a school for prisoners was opened inside the walls of Boggo Road Gaol. It schooled all kinds of prisoners… from petty thieves and armed robbers to infamous murderers. Come and visit Our Strangest State School.

Our Strangest State School

Gold Coast bodybuilder Nathan Jones, at 207 centimeters and weighing 128 kilograms, was nicknamed “The Colossus of Boggo Road”. Nathan was convicted in the Brisbane Supreme Court in April 1989 on five counts of attempted robbery and three of the unlawful use of a motor vehicle. In prison, an upset Nathan is said to have torn his cell door off; in reality he was a gentle giant. Having served his sentence Nathan was released and turned his life around eventually becoming a WWE wrestler and later a famous Hollywood movie star.

The Colossus of Boggo Road

A century ago this month, one of the most violent political protests, indeed probably the first real protest of its kind - marched its way through the streets of Brisbane City. What would ensue over the coming days would change Brisbane forever. It would also see thirteen men locked up in Boggo Road Gaol for long sentences with hard labour.

Red Flag Protests

In the 1950s conditions at Boggo Road Gaol were at fever pitch. The prison was horribly over-crowded, prisoners and officers were unhappy. There were riots, protests and regular violence. Finally, late one night there was an escape attempt by notorious violent offenders. This attempt and one officers firm stance would be the subject of a secret inquiry held within the walls of Boggo Road Gaol.

The Secret Enquiry

Mafia activity has been known to exist in Australia’s southern states for decades. Many however would not know that in the 1920s and 1930s Queensland had its very own Mafia. Known as the Black Hand they were every bit as dangerous as their southern counterparts. This group of migrant Italian cane field workers was full of extortionists, thieves, pimps, rapists and cold-blooded murderers. Four of these men would end up in Boggo Road Gaol.

The Black Hand

With the closure of St Helena Island as a prison in Queensland came the shift of long service men to Boggo Road Gaol. What would now be the new number two division, the former prison for females would be moved elsewhere. The workshops for women were converted into the workshops for men. Soon however the need for the transfer of workshops from St Helena would necessitate the construction of an all new workshops at Boggo Road Gaol. 2019 marks the 90th Anniversary of these workshops. Join Gaol Director Jack Sim and Research Coordinator Sue Olsen as they uncover the history of these essential buildings.

Prison Workshops - The 90th Anniversary

Boggo is the official podcast for historic Boggo Road Gaol. Recorded live inside the gaols' walls, each episode explores the history of Australia's most notorious prison.

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