 Much of daily life inside the gaol could be gleaned from sources such as diaries written by John <unk> , governor of the gaol between 1869 and 1884 . During its operation , the gaol was used to house short @-@ term prisoners , lunatics and some of the colony ’ s most notorious and hardened criminals . It also housed up to twenty children at a time – including those imprisoned for petty theft or vagrancy , or simply those staying with a convicted parent . Babies under twelve months old were allowed to be with their mothers . The youngest prisoner was recorded as three @-@ year @-@ old Michael Crimmins , who spent 6 months in the prison in 1857 for being idle and disorderly . In 1851 , the 13- and 14 @-@ year @-@ old O 'Dowd sisters were imprisoned because they had nowhere else to go . 
