As many early Australian police stations also served as the local officer’s residence, it was necessary to provide separate lock up facilities. Prefabricated “flat-pack” cells provided the answer. Available from Government Supply Catalogues between 1860 and 1900, they were made from Australian hardwood and delivered in plank form to be assembled on site. Complete with a solid steel door, they weighed a hefty four tons. Dating back to the early 1900s, this original, full-sized example was located at Sydney’s Malabar Police Station. It was later relocated to the Long Bay Correctional Complex where it was restored by inmates in 2005.

It can be seen at the Corrective Services NSW Museum, Cooma.