Department of Corrective Services

Host Prison: Karnet Prison Farm

The work camp at Walpole was Western Australia’s first pilot camp – established in January 1998 as a five-day-a-week camp and expanding later to operate seven-days-a-week.

Currently the work schedule at Walpole is divided between the maintenance of the Bibbulmun Track and undertaking other work projects in the community at Walpole, and in outlying towns and hamlets including Denmark, Northcliffe, Nornalup and Peaceful Bay.

The work camp undertakes projects which are ongoing throughout the year.

• Building a heritage trail with wheelchair access for the tourist bureau. The track is on reasonably wet ground and it is hoped the prisoners will finish construction of the boardwalk before the wet season
• Maintaining the Bibbulmun Track, clearing re-growth, realigning sections of track and making the track "walker friendly" by constructing steps, rails, and regrading steep sections
• Working with Silver Chain and other agencies, providing ongoing service to a group of Walpole seniors. The prisoners assist with outside domestic work such as the chopping of firewood, pruning of trees and bushes, clearing of yards and, in some circumstances, minor house maintenance. This service is particularly valued by the community and the prisoners receive constant praise and rewards from the elderly in the form of homemade cakes and biscuits for their efforts
• Maintaining community infrastructure including yard cleaning, pruning, carpentry and painting on community buildings and property used by the Silver Chain, the local playgroup, the local churches and the Telecentre
• Maintaining public areas including the Walpole picnic/tourist area, washing down and cleaning the BBQs, cleaning up any rubbish and generally making the area welcoming for the day's tourists.

Recently completed projects include:

• landscaping and horticulture at Walpole Bowling Club
• maintenance and painting at the Nornalup Fire Station
• maintenance of the Munda Biddi and Denmark to Nornalup heritage trails
• construction of ablutions at Lights Beach.

In the months ahead, the prisoners will be involved in repainting the community hall and constructing a cycle track at Northcliffe for the local youth.

The Walpole prisoner work camp won a Premier's Award in 1999 for "Services to Regional Western Australia" with its work in clearing a large section of the Bibbulmun track, Western Australia's premier walking trail.