Deal struck for jail cells at site of grisly Aussie murders
The police station and jail cells in a town at the centre of Australia’s grisliest murders has sold.
The property in South Australia’s Snowtown – known colloquially for the bodies in the barrels case – transacted in May for a sum that is undisclosed.
The Domain listing for the former cop shop, now a residence, showed hopes of $197,500. It is not suggested the station and cells are connected to the crimes or those convicted.
The listing offers a glimpse into Aussie crime history, showing how prisoners were held in decades past.
Elders Real Estate Clare Valley/Burra’s Tren Vine looked after the intriguing listing. He confirmed the property has sold and for a price the vendors are happy with. There was a large volume of interest in the address, Vine says, due to its unique nature.
Campaign photos reveal the two prison cells, behind green iron bars, at the back of the property.
Narrow wooden beds are fitted in the cells, along with a single sink, a shower and hefty steel doors.
The home itself is a neat conversion of the old police station, with a splash of sage green paint in the living room, warmed by a wood fire, and a fresh white kitchen.
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Snowtown is two hours north of Adelaide, in the Clare Valley, and is built on an agricultural industry.
Twelve people were murdered between August 1992 and May 1999, in connection with Snowtown. John Bunting, Robert Wagner and James Vlassakis were convicted of the killings. Mark Haydon was convicted of helping to dispose of the bodies.
Some remains of the victims, chosen at random for fabricated transgressions, were found in barrels of acid in Snowtown’s disused bank vault.
There is a precedent of former police stations turned into sought-after dwellings.
One in Melbourne’s Belgrave sold for just shy of $1 million in April, and was presented as “contemporary showstopper” with four bedrooms and modern flourishes.
In Brighton, in Melbourne’s bayside, a property with a colourful penal past was listed earlier in the year.
The six-bedroom, four-bathroom home at 77 Carpenter Street was once the Brighton Police Station and retained a key feature of years gone by – the doors in the dining area were the original holding cell doors. They had been revamped to contain a bedroom, laundry and wine cellar.
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