The Brosnan Centre: From Community Service to Social Action

Norden, Peter (2017). The Brosnan Centre: from community service to Social Action.

RMIT University. Book.

Published in 2017

Norden Directions.

91 pages

Open access

This publication can be downloaded

• here (via Norden Directions - open access)

• here via RMIT's Research Repository

The Brosnan Centre: From Community Service to Social Action is a reflective and historical account by Peter Norden of the development of post-release support and social justice work connected to Pentridge Prison and the Victorian correctional system.

The book documents Norden’s long involvement with Pentridge Prison, including his work as Catholic chaplain and his close association with Father John Brosnan, the prison’s long-serving chaplain. It describes daily life inside Pentridge, the experiences of prisoners—particularly young offenders—and the shortcomings of custodial systems in the 1970s–1990s.

A significant focus is the establishment of Four Flats Hawthorn in 1977, a post-release service developed in response to the cycle of incarceration observed at Pentridge and youth training centres. The book traces how this initiative later became The Brosnan Centre, named in honour of Father John Brosnan, and how its work expanded into broader advocacy, research, and community education.

The publication also records Norden’s involvement in 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 following the prison’s closure, using the former prison as a site of public education about incarceration, punishment, and reform. Throughout, the book situates Pentridge Prison as central to debates about justice, rehabilitation, and the human impact of imprisonment in Victoria.