HM Prison Won Wron was a minimum security prison located at Won Wron near Yarram in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. In 1962/63, a group of prisoners and prison officers from HM Prison Morwell River began construction of the HM Prison Won Wron. The facility was associated with a

Forests Commission Victoria The Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) was the main government authority responsible for management and protection of State forests in Victoria, Australia between 1918 and 1983. The Commission was responsible for ″forest policy, prevention an ...

(FCV) nursery to raise pine seedlings for the

Strzelecki Ranges The Strzelecki Ranges ( ) is a set of low mountain ridges located in the West Gippsland and South Gippsland regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The Ranges are named after Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish explorer, who with the ass ...

reforestation scheme, although no prison labour was available for forests work until 1968. Eucalypt seedlings were produced at a similar FCV nursery at Olsens Bridge near Boolara which was associated with

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, Victoria, Boolarra in Victoria. The nursery was established to grow ...

. The Olsens Bridge nursery operated until 1991 when operations transferred to Won Wron. Soon after in 1993, the Victorian Plantations Corporation was formed and transferred its nursery operations to an expanded facility at nearby Gelliondale. The Prison was noteworthy in that it held an annual fun-run on Easter Sunday with the tongue-in-cheek name of "Prisoners on the Run", which raised funds to help support disabled and disadvantaged children in the

Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...

area. HM Prison Won Wron closed in late 2004 and the subsequent proposal to set up an Indigenous rehabilitation facility on the site was opposed by the local community of Yarram.Yarram seeks more funds to go with Indigenous rehab centre

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, 17 August 2005. The site reopened in 2008 as the Wulgunggo Ngalu Learning Place, a culturally appropriate learning place that houses and supports up to 18 Koori men who are undertaking Community Correction Orders. It won the community corrections category of the 2010 International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) awards.

References

Defunct prisons in Victoria (state) 1964 establishments in Australia 2004 disestablishments in Australia {{VictoriaAU-struct-stub