HM Prison Morwell River

A nursery and workers camp was established by the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) in 1949 at Olsens Bridge at the head of the Morwell River, which is just east of Boolarra in Victoria. The nursery was established to grow mountain ash seedlings for the Strzelecki Ranges reforestation scheme. The scheme, which began in the early 1930s, ran quietly and successfully for nearly 60 years and is believed to have been the largest and most sustained reforestation project of its type in Australia. The FCV workers camp was later to become the HM Morwell River Prison in May 1961, where up to 80 inmates worked in the nursery and planted seedlings across the Strzeleckis under the guidance of FCV employees. The Prison was a "Minimum Security" facility and escapes occurred in 1962, 1967 and 1968. Reputation has it that prisoners often secretly made their way to the Boolarra Hotel, and even as far as Morwell Shopping Centre. It's also rumoured the inmates brewed moonshine in the nearby bush.. Guards were, at times, not above joining prisoners in their illicit meals. On at least one occasion in 1968, staff and inmates at Morwell River Camp stole a number of sheep from a neighbour’s paddock. This misdemeanour was taken very seriously and resulted in a prosecution by the Forests Commission. Probably its most notable inmates were media commentator Derryn Hinch in 1987, followed by prominent foo

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