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No lamingtons, not even on their national day!
21 JULY 2025
They may have originated in Queensland in the 1890s but lamingtons fast became an Australian icon, so much so they have their own National Day – 21 July!
Simple in ingredients – flour, sugar, eggs, chocolate sauce, coconut – lamingtons are nonetheless iconic and often regarded as Australia’s national cake. But they can be a little time consuming to make, and when you have to deliver 24,000 desserts each week time is not a luxury afforded to the bakeries inside Corrective Services NSW centres.
So, on National Lamington Day, we pay tribute to our bakers. They might not be serving the iconic cake, but our correctional staff and inmates work hard to create baked goods that also double as a skills drive.
What’s on the menu instead?
“Anzac biscuits are the most popular dessert we make,” explains Business Unit Manager Mark Yates from Reg Boys Bakery inside Long Bay Correctional Centre.
“We have them on the menu once a month, but we also make fresh muffins in a variety of flavours including choc chip, blueberry, raspberry and mango.”
The bakery goes through 12 tonnes of flour each week, and 120 litres of egg pulp, all in the name of delivering fresh bread, rolls, pies, and quiches - including vegetarian options - to each gaol in NSW.
With an annual output of around 1,100,000 muffins, 577,000 meat pies, 622,000 sausage rolls and 880,000 loaves of bread it’s easy to see why lamingtons - delicious but labour-intensive - don’t make the cut!
Rolling out second chances
Established in September 1997, Reg Boys Bakery is staffed by correctional officers who supervise a team of inmates. Shifts run Monday to Friday, from 3:30am to 1:30pm, and inmates are carefully assessed for suitability, with preference given to those with experience in food service. Participants can earn qualifications in hospitality, baking, commercial cookery, and food processing - skills that support their reintegration into society after release.
On the road out of Long Bay
Once baked, the goods are transported by CSI Logistics from Long Bay to the Francis Greenway Correctional Complex in Berkshire Park, where they’re distributed to correctional centres across the state.
Lamingtons might be off the menu, but Reg Boys Bakery still delivers — mixing large-scale baking, smooth logistics, and a meaningful rehabilitation program into one finely blended recipe for success.
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