The Boggo Road Reopening Saga

Well, it's official... Boggo Road Gaol will probably be closed until 2013. We got the word today from the government minister himself, Simon Finn, who wrote:

"With respect to any reopening of the Gaol, without basic safety and access works being undertaken there is ongoing concern about allowing regular access to the site by community or tour groups even in the short-term. Any reopening is unlikely to be before 2013 and this is the same advice provided to all inquiries."

Turns out that what we've been telling everyone for the last five months is true. Ignore anything you hear about the gaol opening this year, because it's just not going to happen. The state government has long shown an unwillingness to invest in heritage, but the final nails in the coffin were the floods and cyclones that ensured all government money would, understandably, be going elsewhere in Queensland. It would have cost at least $500,000 just to get the place up to basic health and safety standards to allow in regular tour groups etc - and that's without any further spending on making the place the top-class museum/historical site it truly deserves to be. 

The good news is that there is a process in place that should protect the heritage values of Boggo Road and ensure it will be a place worth visiting when it eventually does reopen. I have always believed that as far as the 'new' Boggo Road Gaol goes, it is case of 'do it once, do it right'. This place has the potential to be every bit as good as the heritage prisons at Fremantle, Melbourne and Maitland (with world-heritage-listed Port Arthur probably being in a unique category).

The BRGHS will be involved in the consultation process for planning at Boggo Road and will be pushing our own vision for the site to be a vibrant and innovative community arts hub, hosting a dynamic programme of affordable historical interpretation via a wide range of art forms and media. The Australian experience has shown that heritage prisons can only succeed by embracing a not-for-profit and community ethos, and we will be driving this point home to make it happen at Boggo Road.

In the meantime, the Boggo Road reopening saga looks set to extend to eight years. However, with over forty of the near-200 BRGHS members now on 3-year memberships, we will most definitely be around when those big green gates finally open up again.