When Don Osborne went to Pentridge in 1970, he found a nineteenth-century penal establishment in full working order. It held about 1200 inmates, most of them cooped up in tiny stone cells that sweltered in summer and froze in winter. Some had no sewerage or electric light. Assigned to teach in the high-security section of the prison, Don worked in the chapel, which doubled as a classroom during the week. There, he saw the terrible effects of the violence that permeated H Division, the prison's punishment section. He found himself acting as confidant and counsellor to some of the best-known criminals of the era, and to others who'd become notorious later, after H Division had worked its magic on them. This book offers an insider's reflections on how the prison emergd as it did, and is supplemented by a stunning pictorial section. It focuses especially on the rebellious 1970s, when the military 'disciplines' of H Division began to give way in the face of prisoner resistance and public criticism. Don writes of the people and events that shaped Petnridge's history and etched it into the memories of the city that was its reluctant host.

Ned Kelly was hanged at the Old Melbourne Gaol on 11 November 1880, and his body buried in the graveyard there. Many stories emerged about his skull being separated and used as a paperweight or trophy, and it was finally put on display at the museum of the Old Melbourne Gaol — until it was stolen in 1978. It wasn’t only Ned Kelly’s skull that went missing. After the closure of the Old Melbourne Gaol in 1929, the remains of deceased prisoners were exhumed and reinterred in mass graves at Pentridge Prison. The exact location of these graves was unknown until 2002, when the bones of prisoners were uncovered at the Pentridge site during redevelopment. This triggered a larger excavation that in 2009 uncovered many more coffins, and led to the return of the skull and a long scientific process to try to identify and reunite Ned Kelly’s remains. But how do you go about analysing and accurately identifying a skeleton and skull that are more than 130 years old? Ned Kelly: Under the Microscope details what was involved in the 20-month scientific process of identifying the remains of Ned Kelly, with chapters on anthropology, odontology, DNA studies, metallurgical analysis of the gang's armour, and archaeological digs at Pentridge Prison and Glenrowan. It also includes medical analysis of Ned's wounds and a chapter on handwriting analysis — that all lead to the final challenging conclusions. Illustrated throughout with photographs taken during the forensic investigation, as well as historical images, the book is supplemented with breakout boxes of detailed but little-known facts about Ned Kelly and the gang to make this riveting story a widely appealing read.

Members of the last generation of inmates and staff return to the now-forgotten prison to tell the true and brutal story of Pentridge before developers bury it forever. Rupert Mann has worked with the past all his life, and is interested in how we use, forget, and celebrate it today. This priceless work, completed over five years, is an attempt to hear the voices of the last generation who lived and worked at Pentridge Prison, now the only ones who can tell the tale before the site is redeveloped and its true history is lost. Within the forgotten and decaying walls of this once shining fortress, fifteen people returned to their memories and to Pentridge -- many for the first time since being released or having retired up to 60 years before -- to bear witness to its end and to be photographed amongst the decay as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. They include former prisoners, such as Jack Charles, Billy Longley, and Ray Mooney; former staff, such as Peter Norden and Pat Merlo; musicians who played there, such as Paul Kelly; and Brian Morley, a legal witness to Ronald Ryan's execution in 1967. Pentridge was, for 146 years, a concentrated crossroads of disparate song lines and an integral if unwanted part of Melbourne's identity. In its cells, corridors, and halls can be found the remnants of an endless litany of love, hate, loss, and discovery, friendship and conflict, political dealings and petty squabbles. There is no betrayal, affirmation, or epiphany that has not occurred there. And during all those years, life was messily split between jailer and prisoner by bluestone and iron. This is their collective story.

This is an authoritative, comprehensive account of Victoria’s justice system, starting with a tour of the historic justice precinct which is located on the corner of La Trobe Street and Russell Street, Melbourne. The author takes us back to the earliest days of Victoria’s settlement and introduces the politicians, police, magistrates, and even the criminals who played their parts in Melbourne and Victoria’s development. We are shown how the prison hulks developed into stockades on land, and uncover the philosophy behind the construction of the prisons – many no longer occupied – and the building of courts which were built for conducting trials, both civil and criminal. The book is, in many ways, an insight into an aspect of Victoria’s social history about which little has been written elsewhere. It is a valuable addition to the justice bibliography and even exposes a mystery or two. It took seven years to research and fact check, and includes many photos. All of the author’s proceeds of this book after costs will be donated to Victoria Police Legacy, which looks after families of deceased police officers who have died in the course of their duties.

"Prison: Cultural Memory and Dark Tourism discusses decommissioned Australian prisons currently or potentially functioning as tourist attractions. In particular, it addresses a fundamental question: Do the interpretations and presentations of the sites include and fairly represent the personal stories and experiences associated with those prisons? The author argues that the conventional understanding of most of Australia's historical prisons fosters a radical "othering" of inmates, and with it the exclusion, distortion and historical neglect of their narratives." "This book examines avenues via which neglected narratives may be glimpsed or inferred, presenting a number of examples. This remedies the imbalance in some degree - and tests such avenues' potential as resources for inclusive interpretations by public historians and curators. The book also focuses on the influence of "celebrity prisoners", whose links to the penal system are exploited as promotional features by the sites and in some cases by the individuals themselves. Their narratives provide broad, if unwitting, support for the system and for the othering of the more general inmate population." "The ramifications of the above with regard to aspects of Australian identity mean that certain facets of the "Australian character" traditionally held to be emblematic are affected. These effects have subtle but tangible consequences for modern Australians' collective memory and deleterious consequences for current popular attitudes to penal practice."--BOOK JACKET.

These are the true and uncensored accounts of Australia's hardest inmates, from Australia's hardest inmates. Martin Bryant--who killed 35 people and injured another 23 at Port Arthur in 1996--is a 160kg slob who trades sex for chocolate in Risdon Prison. Twenty years after Australia's worst massacre, his blond hair is gone, and so is his self-righteous smirk . . . but he is as evil as ever, showing no remorse for the crimes that shook the nation. He is just one of the killers in the rogues' gallery of Australia's Toughest Prisons: Inmates. You will meet the alleged hitman and undisputed hardman called "Goldie", feared by both prisoners and guards alike. John Reginald Killick will tell you how he really escaped from Silverwater Jail in a helicopter and survived Pentridge Prison's notorious "Hell Block." And former Rugby League star Craig Field will tell you his incredible story of how one wrong pub punch landed him in prison limbo. From the rise of ISIS gangs, the lethal underground drug and tobacco trade, and the threat of contraband phones, to shiv fights, brawls, and white-collar criminal beat-downs, the secret lives of Australia's most dangerous men will be on full display. Award-winning author and journalist James Phelps reveals the horror of life inside Australia's most notorious prisons, including Grafton, Cessnock, Pentridge, Minda, Risdon, Silverwater, and Lithgow.

Selected for State Library of Victoria's Summer Read Programme 2014-2015 Bookworld Top 10 Crime & Thriller Books of 2014 'This is a terrific read with great plot twists, complex characters and a menacing atmosphere.' Sarina Gale, Books + Publishing, March 2014 It’s 1967, the summer of love, and in swinging Melbourne Detective Sergeant Charlie Berlin has been hauled out of exile in the Fraud Squad to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl, the daughter of a powerful and politically connected property developer. As Berlin’s inquiries uncover more missing girls he gets an uneasy feeling he may be dealing with the city’s first serial killer. Berlin's investigation leads him through inner-city discotheques, hip photographic studios, the emerging drug culture and into the seedy back streets of St Kilda. The investigation also brings up ghosts of Berlin's past as a bomber pilot and POW in Europe and disturbing memories of the casual murder of a young woman he witnessed on a snow-covered road in Poland in the war's dying days. As in war, some victories come at a terrible cost and Berlin will have to face an awful truth and endure an unimaginable loss before his investigation is over.

Based on the author's 6 months in Pentridge Prison's notorious H Division. In that time he was subjected to incredible physical and verbal abuse on a daily basis. His days were spent breaking boulders to thumbnail size with a sledgehammer. H Division was the subject of a Board of Inquiry in 1972.

Have you ever wondered if Satan is real? In his book Out of the Devil's Caldron: A Journey from Darkness to Light, John Ramirez tells the story of how he was trained to be the third-ranked high priest of a satanic cult in New York City-casting powerful witchcraft spells and controlling entire spiritual regions. But what started as a long spiral into the underworld ended in a miraculous encounter with Jesus Christ that changed the course of his life. Let John Ramirez walk you through the dark alleys of this world as he uncovers the hidden secrets of darkness through his powerful testimony. People from all ethnic backgrounds dabble in the occult and fall victim to this satanic underworld, never seeing the way out. John Ramirez is one in a million who made it out. John Ramirez's home church for the past nine years has been Times Square Church in New York, founded by David Wilkerson. John has been blessed with the opportunity not only to attend there and sit under the Word and mature spiritually, but the Lord opened the door through the security ministry to form a tight bond between him and Pastor Dave. For two and a half years John had the privilege and blessing to walk with Pastor Dave, and he became a spiritual father to John. He prayed with him, laid hands on him, and even read the manuscript of Out of the Devil's Cauldron before the book was published, giving his blessing. Pastor Dave was so touched by John's testimony that one night he brought him up on stage to have him share his story with the congregation. In the 1950s, Pastor Dave had a young Nicky Cruz in his life. When Nicky told Pastor Dave "I will cut you into a thousand pieces," through the Holy Spirit Pastor Dave said, "Nicky, if you cut me into a thousand pieces, all one thousand pieces would say 'Jesus loves you.'" Many years later, David Wilkerson through the Holy Spirit said to John Ramirez, "I see Jesus in you." And those words forever changed John's life, to go minister anywhere in the world. Today, John Ramirez says, "Thank you, Pastor Dave, for seeing Jesus in me." John Ramirez is a sought-out speaker by many who want to hear of his involvement in the highest levels of the occult and how he got out. He speaks at churches, schools, rallies, and conferences--both secular and Christian--and has been a featured guest on TV and radio programs. He can be reached at JohnRamirez.org

'Willesee has always been a news-hound in pursuit of a story.' Sydney Morning HeraldPerfect for fans of Proof of Heaven, this part memoir, part investigation is a spellbinding spiritual quest around the world and deep into the heart of life's ultimate riddle.Is there life after death?Does God exist? How do you explain miracles? In a career spanning fifty years and thousands of stories, legendary Australian journalist Mike Willesee dared to pose the big questions as part of his ongoing quest for meaning.Born into the Catholic faith, with early ambitions to be a priest, he tried to escape his spiritual destiny by pursuing a path as an investigative journalist. But fate kept catching up, as A Sceptic's Search for Meaning reveals. He had a premonition his plane was going to crash, moments before it did.He found himself the neighbour of one of Australia's most passionate investigators of mystical phenomena, who convinced Mike to join him on his quest. Among many such adventures, Mike flew to Bolivia to interview Katya Rivas, dubbed 'God's secretary'. He watched as the barely literate woman who claimed never to have read the Bible wrote page after page of perfect theology in multiple languages. He also sat by her bed as blood started to ooze from her brow, her hands and her feet - the telltale signs of stigmata.Written in his final year as Mike fought a losing battle with cancer, A Sceptic's Search for Meaning is a moving and intriguing tale of one man's attempt to make sense of the profound mysteries of faith.PRAISE FOR MEMOIRS'A cracking tale of good fortune, ambition, risk-taking, self-belief and driving curiosity.' Daily Telegraph