A gaol cell of the 1800s

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While visiting Busselton in Western Australia, we toured the old courthouse and gaol which is now a museum. There are descriptive panels in several places and I was intrigued by one which hung in one of the tiny gaol cells. The cells, which appeared to be roughly 3 metres x 2 metres, were made of limestone blocks, which are relatively soft. After a prisoner called John Williams escaped in 1862 from one of these cells, by picking out the mortar and stones from the wall, then pulling the small window frame inwards, the cells were lined with mahogany. Williams was recaptured but escaped again and police caught him the second time while he was in the act of making himself a pair of trousers out of a blanket. During the scuffle, Williams stole the constable’s revolver. Two days later, he was seen with the revolver in his hand but with no trousers! Don’t you just love stories like this?