Melbourne was first settled in and its first small gaol was built in In work started on a new gaol based on the Pentonville Model Prison design. A second stage started in , and the wall was extended in In the north wing, chapel, central hall and entrance was built.
A western wing for female prisoners was started in , and the outside wall was finished in Frederick Bailey Deeming was born on 30 July At 16 years of age he ran away to sea, and thereafter, he began a long career of crime, largely thieving and obtaining money under false pretences.
He was responsible for the murder of his first wife Marie, and his four children, at Rainhill, England, on or about 26 July , and a second wife, Emily, at Windsor, Melbourne, on 24 December After his execution, it was reported that over 12, people cheered on the streets outside, and there was public speculation that Deeming was in fact Jack the Ripper. In , a review of the penal system was conducted, with the recommendation being made to close the gaol and relocate prisoners to more suitable locations.
The gaol gradually slowed its operations, and demolished portions of the original site between and In , the gaol was finally closed. This necessitated changes to the prison; in , despite poor record keeping of prisoner burials, historical evidence suggested the remains of approximately 32 executed prisoners, including Ned Kelly, were exhumed from the Old Melbourne Gaol and buried at mass graves in a quarry at Pentridge.
In , the women's cell block, walls and several other buildings were demolished, and a further four coffins were believed to have been moved to Pentridge in During World War II , the gaol was used as a military prison for soldiers found to be absent without leave.
A new wall was built in the eastern courtyard during this time, so that cell block inmates were separated from the college girls. After the end of the war, the section used for holding prisoners was then used only as a storage facility for the Victoria Police Force, whose headquarters were nearby in Russell Street. In May , the sections used by the school were remodelled by architects Eggleston, McDonald and Secomb, to act as the schools food and fashion departments.
In , RMIT performed work to restore the enclosed balcony to its former design. In , RMIT performed further work to landscape the inner courtyard, and in , removed the temporary war-time pavilion classrooms. Architect: Colonial Government Architect", and include the entrance block and chapel; with the bath house and chapel serving as art studios. In , the National Trust of Australia listed the Old Melbourne Gaol on its heritage register, and a year later marked it as a site that needed to be preserved at all costs.
Furthermore, in , the Melbourne Junior Chamber of Commerce floated the idea of converting it into a museum, for the purposes of tourism. In , the gaol was reopened as a public museum, under the management of the National Trust of Australia Victoria. As of [update ] , the gaol is recognised as Victoria's oldest surviving penal establishment, and attracts approximately , visitors per year. The cells have been filled with information about individual prisoners, which also serve to illustrate the history of Melbourne itself.
In addition to historical information, it also includes various memorabilia ; including death masks , an iron mask, and a pair of leather gloves designed to prevent inmates from practising self-abuse. Notably, it still includes Ned Kelly's death mask, pistol and replica of his suit of armour as well as the pencil used by Colin Ross to write a letter protesting his innocence, which he threw over the prison walls.
None have been proven, yet. Join this chilling night time gaol tour — if you dare! What dark and grisly stories will the hangman tell you? Join this exclusive guided tour with the master of the rope, and hear bone-strumming tales straight from the gallows. Immerse yourself in the criminal underworld that was the Melbourne City Watch House in an experience set in the original cell block inhabited by the likes of Squizzy Taylor, Chopper Read and other unsavoury characters.
The Gaol offers challenging and engaging programs for junior and senior secondary levels in humanities and legal studies. Four Court Room Dramas encourage students to analyze text and evidence. Gaol and Watch House tours offer introductions to Melbourne's colonial history and concepts in crime and punishment. Try one of three different night tours at Australia's most feared destination. Our night tours include taking you to the place of real ghost sightings, a tour of the Gaol with the hangman, and an introduction to the criminal underworld in the notorious City Watch House.
Tour the Watch House as part of your Gaol visit. The Watch House tour is a self guided experience which allows visitors to explore the old Watch House. The Gaol can be transformed into an unexpected and unique setting for corporate events, weddings and private functions. Visitors who have difficulty navigating the stairs and narrow entrances of the Gaol can use a Virtual Reality Headset on request.
The first stockade was at Pentridge, the original name for the suburb of Coburg. Its purpose was to provide labour for the construction of the newly proclaimed Sydney Road. Prisoners could do hard labour breaking up stone and road building. A single cellblock, it opened in with 59 male and 9 female prisoners housed inside.
At that time prisoners convicted of serious offences, like murder, were still being sent to penal establishments in New South Wales. Discovery of gold that same year provided the new government with its first major challenge. Compare this depiction of Melbourne in with the following image from Between and , the population of Victoria grew from 77, to more than , By half of Australia's population was in Victoria.
This is what Melbourne looked like only twenty years after its establishment, and only three years after the discovery of gold.
The gold rushes transformed the rural convict colony into a first choice destination for free migrants. Melbourne was unable to accommodate the huge numbers of people arriving during the gold rushes. In South Melbourne a tent city, known as Canvas Town, was established. The area soon became a massive slum, home to tens of thousands of migrants from around the world.
Life was hard and the crime rate increased. The gold rushes brought rapid change to Victoria. New immigrants came with a wide range of skills, professions and lifestyles, which proved invaluable to the economy and transformed society. It also attracted reckless characters wanting to capitalise on this great opportunity.
The lure of gold provided the chance to break free of old class-based bonds. Those who struck it rich on the goldfields returned to Melbourne relishing this reversal of social fortune. Some went around lighting cigars with banknotes, others made mock offers to buy property from former employers.
Among those seeking their fortune were ex-convicts, bushrangers and swindlers, who made life on the diggings and surrounding roads hazardous. Armed robberies were common.
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