Old+Melbourne+Gaol

** Queen Victoria Market Federation Square State Library Impact on society Bibliography  ** THE OLD MELBOURNE GAOL EARLY HISTORY The Old Melbourne Gaol was the first extensive gaol complex in Victoria. It is located in Russell Street and was built in 1852 - 54 but proved to be far too small. It underwent many stages to properly accommodate the amount of prisoners who spent time there however in spite of the amount of building and extension work performed on the Gaol, the complex was consistently overcrowded. The Gaol‘s final stage was built of bluestone rather than sandstone, and had its own perimeter wall. This new design was based upon the designs of British prison engineer Joshua Jebb, and more particularly upon the Pentonville Model Prison in London. At the time it was a model prison and based on the current prison reform theories of the day. Other building works consisted of support buildings constructed around the gaol complex. For example, seventeen gaoler’s houses on Swanston Street [1860], a hospital in one of the yards [1864] and a chief warders house on the corner of Franklin and Russell Sts. OTHER PURPOSES Interestingly enough in 1862 – 4 a western cell block, virtually a replica of the present east block was built to house female prisoners, with the perimeter wall finally completed in 1864. This west wing extended to what is now the RMIT site and has since been demolished. The gaol also served during the Second World War as a military prison for Australian soldiers who were absent without Leave. Later it was a storage depot for the Victorian Police Force! FAMOUS FACES Without a doubt the most famous prisoner to have served time in the Old Melbourne Gaol has to be our notorious bushranger Edward “Ned” Kelly. Even though 135 people were hanged there, it is Ned Kelly’s story that has captured our imaginations and continues to attract visitors to the gaol.  Ned and his gang were proclaimed outlaws after they murdered three policemen. A final violent confrontation with police took place at Glenrowan. Kelly, dressed in home- made metal armour and helmet, was captured and sent to gaol. Ned was sentenced to death by the Irish –born judge Sir Redmond Barry. This case was extraordinary in that there were exchanges between Kelly and the judge. When the judge uttered the customary words “May God have mercy on your soul “, Kelly replied “I will go a little further than that, and say I will see you there when I go”. He was hanged on the 11th November 1880 at 10:04 aged 25. It is said that Kelly’s last words were “Oh well, I suppose it had to come to this... SUCH IS LIFE”. Coincidentally, only twelve days later on the 23rd November 1880, Sir Redmond Barry died of the effects of a carbuncle…. ON HIS NECK! Although the exact number is unknown, it is estimated that a petition to spare Kelly’s life attracted over 30,000 signatures. NED HAS LEFT THE BUILDING… WHAT NOW? In a review of the penal system in 1870 it was recommended that the gaol be closed and the prisoners be moved to a more ‘suitable’ location. Between 1880 and 1924 the gaol was slowly rundown and portions of the original site demolished. This was the end of an era and the dawn of a more complex and sophisticated penal system which continues to change even today.  And so the Old Melbourne Gaol continues to entrance and entice tourists, years after the last prisoner has been hung and buried somewhere in the graveyard. This iconic landmark has been home to bushrangers and murderers, baby farmers and gangsters, petty offenders and lunatics, vagrants and bankrupts. Nowdays you can visit the gaol and relieve the life of a prisoner-even if only for an hour. They have tours of the prison which involves being locked in a cell, spending time on the scaffold, role playing and getting close and personal with prisoner’s death masks. They even offer night tours where you can spend a night in a cell and be scared out of your wits at the sight of a ghost! Sounds like a lot of fun to me...
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The Old Melbourne Gaol is operated by the National Trust of Australia [Victoria]. The National Trust is Australia’s largest community conservation organisation: its aim to conserve Australia’s heritage for future generations…… RESEARCHED AND PRESENTED BY     GEORGE W. CLIFFORD     TONI KOROMILAS-KURTIS 2008


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