The Gaol’s 1830s incarnation was a mere 19 square metres, and in one instance held 42 men in irons, along with others on remand and awaiting trial. With prisoners and their guards effectively cheek by jowl, some convicts forced to sleep in the passageways.
One of them may have been Isaac “Ikey” Solomon, the receiver of stolen property widely regarded as the model for Fagin in Dickens’ Oliver Twist. He ended up in Richmond after being convicted at the Old Bailey 1830. Another sleeper in the passage way may have been colonial hangman, Solomon Bleay, locked up in Richmond and escorted to Hobart or Launceston when his services were required.
As we headed towards the night's accommodation an hour or two later on I found myself looking at the wilderness from a slightly different perspective.
Having made our way out of Gaol it was almost time to hit the road, but there were two remaining items on the agenda while we were in town. One was the Richmond Wine Centre, which sounded like the sort of place where you might find a sampling of the Coal Valley Wine Region's products, along with a range that represented the rest of the island. What I found was a restaurant with a wine list that seemed to be dominated by mainland wines, with most of them coming from what I term the usual suspects.
I might be wrong, hope I am, but won't be back to verify.