Northern Territory Government Photographer Slide Collection.,
PictureNT,
PictureNT,
Date
0000-00-00,
Location
Wildman River,
Description
Paul Nuku with inmates at the Wildman River Wilderness Work Camp. Two of the men have boxing gloves on, while the man in the middle is ducking.,
Notes
“Wildman River Wilderness Work Camp” established in 1986 by the Department of Correctional Services NT, with Paul Nuku in charge.
The camp was a low security detention centre for hard case male juvenile offenders aged between 14 and 18 years.
As part of the rehabilitation program, Paul taught the inmates boxing, physical fitness,
self determination, and discipline. The inmates worked with Conservation Commission staff building fences and working on other CCNT projects.
There were complaints that the centre was too tough on inmates, in a report by the Australian Institute of Criminology after visiting the centre, showed Wildman Camp was tougher than other detention centres and they were unsure of the camp’s effectiveness though some evidence showed it did stop some inmates from re-offending.
By 1990, the number of Juvenile offenders had dropped and there was debate as to whether the Wildman Camp had made a difference, or whether other factors were involved.
Following a review in 2001, the NT Government announced the construction of a holding facility in Alice Springs and an upgrade to the Don Dale Detention Centre. “Wildman River Wilderness Work Camp” was finally closed in 2004.
Information provided by Mark Hunter, 1/3/2015.,