Description of the attraction
Geelong Prison was a maximum security prison located at the corner of Myers and Swanston Streets in Geelong. It was built in stages between 1849 and 1864. Its design - a circular prison with a caretaker's quarters in the center - is based on a prison in Pentonville, England. The prison was officially closed in 1991, and the prisoners were transferred to a new prison in the town of Lara.
Geelong Prison was built by inmates who lived on guarded barges in Corio Bay during construction. The three-story central block has a cruciform shape, its eastern and western wings served as cameras, the northern one was used as an administrative building, and the southern one housed a kitchen, a hospital and a sewing workshop. The AIF used the prison as a disciplinary barracks during World War II and for several years after. From 1958 to 1991, it housed a correctional colony.
In 1991, the government decided to close the prison, and today the building houses the public organization Rotary Club. The building itself, which has retained its original appearance, is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as during school holidays and holidays. Inside, there is an exhibition about the execution by hanging of James Murphy, who beat Constable Daniel O'Boyle to death in 1863. He was the last prisoner to be hanged in the prison. Chamber No. 47 is of particular interest, as it has preserved wall drawings, which have been named the "Window of Freedom".
Today the prison is known as the Old Geelong Prison. Some believe it is still inhabited by the spirits of former inmates, and several paranormal research groups have already searched the prison grounds.
