Berrima Correctional Centre
Sandstone façade of the old Berrima gaol, constructed between 1863 and 1868 under the supervision of Mortimer Lewis
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 Berrima Correctional Centre
Location in New South Wales
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| Location | Berrima, New South Wales |
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| Coordinates | 34°29′15″S 150°20′08″E / 34.48748°S 150.33545°ECoordinates: 34°29′15″S 150°20′08″E / 34.48748°S 150.33545°E |
| Status | Open |
| Security class | Minimum security |
| Capacity | 75 |
| Opened | 1839 – 1909; 1949 – 2011; 2016 – present |
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| Managed by | Corrective Services NSW |
| Country | Australia |
| Building details | |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Sandstone and brick |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | James Barnet |
| Architecture firm | Colonial Architect of New South Wales |
| Designated | 21 March 1978 |
| Official name | Berrima Correctional Centre |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 00807 |
The Berrima Correctional Centre is an Australian prison, located at Berrima, New South Wales. The Centre was operational between 1839 and 2011 with a number of breaks in between, and was re-opened in September 2016. Initially established as Berrima Gaol, the facility closed in 1909 and reopened in 1949 as the Berrima Training Centre. At the time of its closure, the Centre was the oldest Australian correctional facility in operation.
Listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register, the James Barnet designed former gaol is considered of State significance as:
Berrima Gaol is one of the few remaining compounds dating from pre 1840. It is an early example of the application of model prison layouts. Associated with the development of Berrima, and the adjacent courthouse, the Gaol is significant for its phases of use.
The heritage-listed Berrima Gaol was built of local sandstone between 1836 and 1839, with much work done by convicts in irons. Conditions at the gaol were harsh, prisoners spent most of their days in cells and the only light was through a small grate set in the door.
Australia's first serial killer John Lynch was hanged here in 1842. another of the notable trials held in the nearby Berrima Court House was that of Lucretia Dunkley and her lover Martin Beech. Both were hanged in 1843 for the murder of Dunkley’s husband. Dunkley was the only woman hanged at Berrima Gaol.
In 1866 the Gaol was renovated to the standards described by the prison reform movement for a "model prison". However, Berrima Gaol had solitary confinement cells which measured 8 feet by 5 feet, some smaller, where it was intended that all prisoners spent one year. In 1877 a Royal Commission was held to investigate allegations of cruelty by the prison authorities, but the complaints were not upheld.
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