the 1898 Royal Commission, which recommended decreasing rations to reduce costs. In the 1960s, food preparation was overseen by a qualified chef, who also trained prisoners. The diet consisted of quality food, but "without trimmings". Breakfast was porridge, with a third of a pint of milk, a hot drink (tea, unless the prisoner bought coffee or cocoa), and either Vegemite, honey, or margarine, depending on the week. Lunch and dinner had more variation. Both meals consisted of a meat dish – corned beef, sausages, or mince pie – as well as mashed potato and cabbage, although there was occasionally a roast dinner. Meat, vegetables and bread were still a prominent part of the diet in 1991. Labour As well as being used to build the prison itself, convict labour, with convicts in chain gangs, was used for other public works in the Fremantle and surrounding Perth area, including The Causeway, Perth Town Hall and Stirling Highway. The work undertaken by a convict depended on their behaviour and demeanour. Upon arrival to Western Australia, convicts were kept within the prison for a period of observation. If found to have a reasonable disposition, the convict would be sent to work, in a gang under the control of a warder. Typical activities included "quarrying, filling swamps, burning lime, constructing public buildings, roads and jetties" around Fremantle and Perth. After some time, they might be sent to work on road or other projects away from these main settlements. Continued good behaviour could see the convict granted a ticket-of-leave, allowing private employment in a specified district of the colony, and eventually a Conditional Pardon, allowing most freedoms, except for returning to England. A Certificate of Freedom would only be granted at the end of a sentence. Misbehaviour would result in demotion through these levels of work, including returning to convict status within the prison. Re-offenders and captured escapees, after corporal punishment and time in solitary confinement, would be placed on a chain gang undertaking hard labour, typically on roads near Fremantle. Outside work, mostly on public infrastructure, continued beyond the convict era, but gradually declined due to discipline concerns, the rise of trade unions that saw such work as "a threat to free labour", and an increasing emphasis on work as rehabilitation rather than punishment. By 1911 outside work had all but ceased, but could not adequately be replaced by employment within the prison walls;