The Mess Hall
This handsome building, designed by the superintendent of the prison Gother
Kerr Mann, replaced in 1850/51 an earlier, open-sided mess-shed. The Mess
Hall had a shingle roof, with a belfry to signal three important times of
the day - sunrise, dinner time, and lock-up. This bell was later removed but
an intended clock was never installed.
Food was quite generous, if monotonous. The daily ration included one pound
of fresh beef or mutton, twenty ounces of bread, and half a pound of vegetables,
'when procurable.' The mess hall was the social centre of the convict complex.
As well as meals, it was used for Sunday worship, and shelter in wet weather
when the convicts didn't work.
After the prison closed, the mess hall was used for a girls sewing room.
With the closure of the Biloela prison in 1909, this building became the main
office for the dockyard.