Goulburn's St Saviour's cemetery gives new lease of life to inmates

Like a proud father, the Corrective Services senior community projects overseer watches a quiet transformation wash over low security prisoners doing their bit.

"They feel they're part of a team and are contributing to the community," he said.

"...One of them told me the other day, unprovoked, that the work they'd done looked really good."

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Following a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, some 10 inmates late last year recommenced weekly mowing, gardening and clearing waste at the historic Anglican cemetery behind Goulburn Correctional Centre.

Their work frees up Friends of Goulburn Historic Cemeteries volunteers to undertake general maintenance and weeding on the facility that houses some of the city's oldest graves. The prisoners also work on other community projects around town, including the Bungonia Road Motorcycle Grand Prix monument.

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Mr Twaddell said his aim since starting the role in 2006 was to help inmates develop life skills and positivity to re-embrace society upon release.

"We address recidivism through community programs that develop skills, whether trade related, greenkeeping or grounds maintenance, so they can gain employment when they get out. It gives them something positive to focus on," he said.

Mr Twaddell says he has valuable life skills to pass on and the cemetery holds a special place.

As a boy, he and his brothers helped their father, Henry, mow the same cemetery. The family, including his five siblings, moved from Sydney to Goulburn in 1977 and his father volunteered his time while finding permanent employment.

"I have a memory of mowing the long grass and exploring (among the graves). There was a vault type grave with the opening slightly ajar and I ran for it," Mr Twaddell laughed.

"It's slightly ironic I'm here 46 years later with inmates looking after it."

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Mr Twaddell's grandfather, Leslie, was also a sexton at Frenchs Forest cemetery for many years, doing sandstone work on graves.

But while the Goulburn work is close to heart, Kevin says a bigger picture is at play. He sees the rewards of giving inmates employment as secondary to his overseer's role.

"We never had a lot of money growing up so I can see where some inmates are coming from and have some empathy," he said.

"I like to help out with life skills and I get a lot of satisfaction from helping to rehabilitate them."

The Friends of Historic Cemeteries volunteers are not present when the prisoners work at the facility.

But member, Daphne Penalver, said the inmates made a "huge difference." They had worked on the cemetery for many years from about the 1980s but this had stopped when COVID hit.

"It takes a lot of pressure off us so we concentrate wholly on maintenance and weeding," she said.

"We're very pleased with how the cemetery is looking now."

Newspapers have been laid on all graves with mulch topping, keeping weeds at bay. The Friends have transformed the cemetery over four years, working up to three mornings a week.

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The work has drawn family historians and tourists. The group hopes to eventually place a database of graves on a website, thanks to volunteer and academic research.

"We love doing this and are very proud of what we've achieved," volunteer, Linda Cooper said.

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