Staff and prisoners of Fremantle Prison

Staff and prisoners of Fremantle Prison occupied the former prison on The Terrace, Fremantle, in Western Australia, between 1855 and 1991.Fremantle Prison was administered by a comptroller general, sheriff, or director, responsible for the entire convict or prison system, and a superintendent in charge of the prison itself. Prison officers, known as warders in the 19th century, guarded against escapes, enforced discipline, oversaw prisoner work, and instructed inmates in trades. Officers worked under stringent conditions until they achieved representation through the Western Australian Prison Officers Union. Convicts were initially of good character, as potential future colonists, but eventually less desirable convicts were sent, until the end of transportation in 1868. As a locally run prison, Fremantle's population was generally short-sentenced white prisoners in the 1890s, with very few Aboriginal prisoners; however, by the late 20th century, most prisoners were serving longer sentences, a higher proportion of them were violent, and Aboriginal people were over-represented.

Western Australia's first comptroller general of convicts, Edmund Henderson, arrived in the colony with the first convicts on board Scindian in June 1850. Henderson administered Western Australia's convict establishment for thirteen years; Battye writes that "its success was no doubt due to his wisdom and tact." The primary responsibilities of the comptroller general were to "direct convict labour and be responsible for convict discipline". After Henderson's resignation in 1863, William Newland was appointed his successor. Newland's arrival closely followed the appointment of Governor John Hampton, who had previously been comptroller general of convicts in Van Diemen's Land. Hampton assumed far more direct control of Western Australia's convict establishment than his predecessors, and was in perpetual disagreement with Newland. As a direct consequence, Newland retired early in 1866, and was recalled to Britain at the expense of the Imperial Government.

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