Melbourne+Gaol

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//**Old Melbourne Gaol ** The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former prison that is now a museum. It was built as Melbourne’s first permanent gaol in 1841 and was gradually enlarged and renovated until 1846. // //During the gold rush, the crime rate rose so in 1851, there was a need to enlarge the gaol for growing numbers of. Construction of a second cell block bagan in 1852 and was completed by 1858 .//

//Prisoners who were living in the Gaol were kept in isolation. They were kept in small cells that had almost no light and very bad air circulation. When they had to go out of their cells for exercise or church, they wore masks so the other prisoners could not see if they knew anyone else. //

//In 1924, the Old Melbourne Gaol was too old and in desperate need for repair that some parts of the Gaol were demolished. For a short period of time it was used as a military prison during World War II, where it was used for prisoners of war and Australian troops who tried to escape their duty without permission, better known as going AWOL. After, it was used as a storage facility for the Victoria Police Force whose headquarters were nearby in Russell Street. In 1972, the Old Melbourne Gaol// // was reopened as a public museum and now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year .//

For a photo gallery of the Old Meblourne Gaol, Click the Excursions link on the top or bottom of this page.


 * //Ned Kelly//**

//Edward “Ned” Kelly was born on the 3rd June 1854 in Beveridge, Victoria. His father was John “Red” Kelly, who was born in Ireland but moved to then named Van Diemen’s Land (Now Tasmania) because he apparently stole two pigs. He was held there for five years and when he was released he moved to Victoria and found work in Beveridge where Edward “Ned” Kelly was born.// //In 1869, when Ned Kelly was only 14 years old, he was arrested for apparently assaulting a Chinese pig farmer called Ah Fook. He claimed that he had been robbed by Ned, who stated that Ah Fook had a row with his sister Annie. From that moment on the police regarded him as a "juvenile bushranger" .//

//The famous Glenrowan battle against the Kelly Gang and the Police took place on the 27th and 28th June 1880. They charged into the Glenrowan Inn and took seven hostages. They knew that a train load of police officers were coming so they put on their famous armour. It is not known who made the armour except that it was probably made from old plow parts and each weighed approximately 44kg. Their plan was to derail the police train by removing pieces of the track, but one of the hostages convinced Ned Kelly to let him go and as soon as he did, he warned the police by standing on the train track with a lantern in the early morning. The train was able to stop before it reached the missing piece of track. The police than laid siege to the Inn and the battle had begun.//

//Ned Kelly came out of the Inn at dawn on Monday 28th June, 1880, full dressed in his suit of armour////. He walked towards the police waiting outside the Inn, firing his gun at them while he walked. He was able to shoot them but their bullets simply bounced off his suit of metal armour. But his legs and arms were unprotected and he was shot repeatedly in those areas. The other members of Kelly Gang died in the hotel. Joe Byrne was said to have perished due to loss of blood because of a gunshot wound that cut a main artery. Dan Kelly and Steve Hart apparently committed suicide, according to a witness. Several of the hostages that the Kelly Gang took when they captured the Glenrowan Inn were also shot. Two of the hostages died. The police on the other hand, suffered only one minor injury during the whole battle. Superintendent Francis Hare was the senior officer on the scene. He received a slight wound to his wrist, and then fled the battle. For being such a coward, the Royal Commission later suspended Superintendent Francis Hare from the Victorian Police Force.//

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