Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of the Melbourne Gaol.
On this page
Prison, closure and museum
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1839
A first gaol
Work begins on a gaol for the young town of Melbourne.
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1841–44
Russell and La Trobe Streets
A second gaol is built on the present site; its first cell block opens in 1845.
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1852–54
The bluestone wing
A bluestone cell block is built, drawing on London’s Pentonville prison; it is extended in 1857–59.
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1862–64
A women’s block
A cell block for women is built, and the perimeter wall is completed in 1864.
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11 November 1880
Ned Kelly
The bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged at the gaol, aged 25.
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1924
The gaol closes
The last hanging takes place, and the gaol closes the same year.
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1939–45
A military prison
During the Second World War the gaol holds soldiers absent without leave.
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1972
A museum
The National Trust, which listed the gaol in 1957, reopens it as a public museum.
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1982
Heritage protection
The gaol is added to the Victorian Heritage Register.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
