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Log Lock-Up

Location Blair Street,, HARROW VIC 3317 - Property No B672 File Number B0672 Level State

[1/1] B0672 Log Lock-Up Blair St

Statement of Significance

The log lock-up at Harrow was erected c.1859 under the supervision of the Public Works Department. It is constructed of rough-hewn logs stacked 14 feet high, with the logs crossed and half notched at the corners and complete with log ceiling and covering flat pitched hip and gable roof. The lock-up was used by the Harrow police garrison as temporary accommodation of prisoners awaiting trial.
The Harrow log lock-up is one of a number of similar structures erected by the Public Works Department in the period 1850-1870 for the Victoria Police. These solid vernacular structures were favoured as the best method of building secure lock-ups in country areas where timber was plentiful and labour available from the prisoners themselves. The Harrow log lock-up is a fine example of this type of gaol structure on the original site.
The log lock-up at Harrow has been restored by the Harrow Progress Association and is preserved intact.
Classified: 'Local' 26/11/1959
Revised: 03/08/1998