Adelaide Gaol - Construction and Disputation

Construction and Disputation

Although Governor Gawler was under orders from the Select Committee on South Australia in Britain not to undertake any public works, in 1840 George Strickland Kingston was commissioned to design a permanent Gaol to hold 140 prisoners. The plans were based on England's Pentonville prison. Proceedings of the Select Committee indicate that in Britain nothing was known of the gaol's construction and there is no record of any mention in any official dispatches from South Australia.

The original estimate for construction was £17,000 (2011 $4,564,500), however in late July 1840, one month after construction began, the plans were altered by Governor George Gawler. Although all the foundations had been laid the new plans halved the building work, which effectively reduced the contract cost to £10,000 although this did not include the cost of work already completed. In October, Gawler again altered the plans by now including the gaoler's house he had earlier dropped from the original plans, added two more towers and increased the quality of the stonework by specifying ashlar which cost fifty percent more than the wrought stone specified in the original contract. These new alterations added £9,000 to the cost. By March 1841 the goal was nearing completion, the builders Borrow and Goodiar had already received £l0,950 and they now requested a further £8,733 which Gawler refused. The dispute resulted in the claim being arbitrated in court and the arbitrators requested an independent valuation of the work completed.

In May, Gawler was replaced by George Grey who accused Gawler of acting "under no authority whatever". Gawler denied responsibility for the work and blamed Kingston. Kingston himself claimed the work was authorised by the Board of Works who denied even inspecting the site despite evidence they did so weekly. As Gawler had kept no documentation whatsoever regarding the contract it could not be determined who was responsible and Kingston's appointment was later terminated on 4 August, six days after the gaol was completed. In early September the valuation was completed with the value of work estimated at more than £32,000 above the sum already paid, which the court awarded to Borrow and Goodiar. On 5 November the builders submitted a claim for the £32,000 plus interest, commission, legal costs and arbitration fees of more than £4,000 (2011: $9,666,000 in total). Grey refused and threatened to put the case before the British Government. In February 1842 Grey commissioned another valuation that presented a revised valuation of £19,650 (2011: $5,276,000) based solely on the original plans, which was offered to the builders. It was initially declined but accepted following pressure from the Bank of South Australia with whom Borrow and Goodiar had an £11,000 (2011: $2,954,000) overdraft. By the end of 1842 both of the colonies newspapers had taken up the cause in favour of the builders and a memorial was presented to the Secretary of the Colonies in Britain, demanding that the arbitration decision be honoured or put before a jury trial. The sum was reluctantly paid, although the actual construction costs still resulted in the builders declaring bankruptcy.

The cost blow out to approximately £40,000 (2011: $10,740,000), being a fifth of the total funding for the establishment of the newly settled colony was the main cause of a statewide depression and numerous bankruptcies. Governor Gawler was summoned back to England to explain his "extravagant" building program. Originally designed to have four ornate turrets, only two towers were completed, and only one of those was the ornate turret as planned.