And They Say Mexican Jails Are Bad

Well, I've done it now! Here four weeks and already in jail. The cells are smaller than most American closets with four of us sharing the cell. At least I'm in good company with my new mates, Diana and Nancie. Our other roommate is a bit stiff though. His photo shows him in bed where he stays all the time. Minute amounts of light come in from our tiny vent at the top of the cell.

The food is indescribably bad and meager. We get half a loaf of white bread daily and one-half pound of salt meat on Sundays if we behave ourselves. However, we do get a weekly allowance of vinegar to prevent scurvy.

Boy, am I ever sorry I stole that pig but George was complaining so much about the price of groceries here that I couldn't take it anymore!


Seriously, these photos are of the first jail in Western Australia called the Round-house. It opened in January 1831 and was policed by civil servants who had basic quarters on site. The police used it as a lock-up until 1899.

One could be sentenced for mutiny, disobedience, breaking curfew, stealing, being a sick lunatic, consuming alcohol during a church service, or a host of other crimes. Only one person was ever hanged for murder. Sentences usually included public humiliation in the stocks or pillories. Pillories were used for short-term punishment but were much harsher. Prisoner were forced to stand hunched over with their heads and hands in the stocks. Their ears would be nailed to the boards to prevent them from turning their heads when missiles were hurled at them. That would be one solution to our prison overcrowding problems. However, I can tell you it's uncomfortable enough to sit in those stocks for even a few minutes!

Here are our new friends, the volunteers at the Roundhouse. These ladies are a hoot and we had so much fun with them that we didn't complete as much of our historical walking tour as we planned.


Left to right, you see Diana, me, Nancie and our new Aussie friends. Small world - Diana is from Denver and Nancie is a CSU grad who used to live in Loveland!


Above is the view to the city from the Roundhouse and below is the view to the sea from the tops of rampart walls. The walls are about 10 feet thick and made of limestone so prisoners had no hope of escape.


That's it for now! Whatever you do, don't get up the gum tree - that's like being up the creek without a paddle!