Old Melbourne Gaol
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| Old Melbourne Gaol | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Status: | Museum |
| Opened: | 1841 |
| Closed: | 1926 |
| Managed by: | National Trust of Australia |
The Old Melbourne Gaol is a museum and former prison located in Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Currently it consists of a bluestone building and courtyard and is located next to the old City Police Station and City Courts buildings (both now occupied by RMIT University).
[edit] History
A land allotment of scrub to the north-east of the town was selected as Port Philip's first permanent gaol. It was modelled on Pentonville Prison, England, building of the first Gaol began during 1841 and gradually enlarged and changed until 1864. 1845 the wall ended and the outside dirt track became Russell Street. 1848 superintendent of the gaol was Samuel Barrow. Gold rush crimes from 1851 saw a need to enlarge the prison. A second cell block, an extension on the north side of the original, was erected beginning 1852 and finished by 1858.
During the 1850s decade one woman hanged was Elizabeth Scott along with 59 men. The second jail was publicly tendered 25th May 1882 for a west wing extension to hold female prisoners and was won by British prison engineer Joshua Jebb.
The bluestone walls with turret watchtowers were completed by 1864 and then demolished during the Great Depression of the 1930s to create a sea retaining wall at St Kilda; and then at Hampton which is also a beach-side suburb of Melbourne but now forms part of Brighton. It was later found to be laid with bricks that had the names and date of execution. A total of 14 marked bricks were found, one of which read "M.N 22.10.94", referring to Martha Needle, who was convicted of poisoning her husband, 3 children and brother-in-law, and was hanged on 22 October 1894. At St Kilda beach, this retaining wall is the one that swimmers lay their backs to from the grass. It borders the raised walkway and sand of the beach-front with bluestone.
Housing for other guards were 17 smaller homes along Swanston Street as of 1860 and the Chief Warden’s house was a palatial 2-story affair on the corner of Russell Street and facing Franklin Street built during the 1890s
The gaol was the setting for 136 hangings, the most infamous being that of bushranger Ned Kelly in 1880. The jail was closed in 1929 when Police stables were constructed.
By 1924 it was a run-down structure; then parts of the Gaol were demolished. For a short time it was used as a Military prison during World War II. Later it was used as a storage facility for the Victoria Police Force whose headquarters were nearby in Russell Street. In 1972, the Gaol was reopened in its current role as a public museum.
[edit] Today
The building is currently a museum drawing thousands of tourists annually. The Gaol is open every day except Good Friday and Christmas, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm, and special candlelight night tours can also be arranged.
The Old Melbourne Gaol is Victoria's oldest surviving penal establishment. It currently exhibits 19th century gaol life, including the death masks and memorabilia of some of Melbourne's most notorious criminals, including the death mask of notorious bushranger Ned Kelly. At the age of 25 years, he was convicted of killing a police officer after a two-day trial. Edward "Ned" Kelly was executed 11 November 1880. A skull which is said to be Ned Kelly's was also on display for many years but thieves stole the skull in 1978 and it has never been recovered. It remains a mystery as to whether the skull actually was Kelly's in the first place. His body was buried within the gaol grounds as were all the condemned convicts; none were afforded a plot in a cemetery.
The tour guides delight in telling stories of ghosts, or photos being taken containing "ectoplasm" and the cells are small and quite scary. Parapsycologist (Ghost Hunters) have spent a night and recorded the voice of a woman, repeatedly screaming for help!. The Old Melbourne Gaol also has a court house where one woman, "Elizabeth Scott" was sentenced to being hanged - the first woman to ever be hanged at the Old Melbourne Gaol. Three more female executions would eventually follow. This figure is far surpassed by the number of men executed at the Gaol - 164 in total.
 Demolition of the Old Melbourne Gaol, 2 September 1937 |
.jpg/120px-Old_Melbourne_Gaol_-_Melbourne_(76468479).jpg) Old Melbourne Gaol |
_retouched.jpg/120px-Old_Melbourne_Gaol_(214923673)_retouched.jpg) Old Melbourne Gaol |
 Chapel of the Old Melbourne Gaol, now the RMIT Spiritual Centre |
[edit] External links
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