 The design was adopted by the Governor, Richard Bourke, from the SIPD (Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline) pamphlet.Conditions at the gaol were harsh, prisoners spent most of their days in cells and the only light was through a small grate set in the door.It was originally designed to hold prisoners from the surrounding areas, but Goulburn Gaol took over this role and it became a subsidiary prison housing sick and aged convicts from other gaols.