TIME TO SELL THE CELLS
THE old Geelong Gaol has been put on the market, with agents Colliers International calling for expressions of interest on behalf of the City of Greater Geelong.
The Geelong Advertiser reported last week that the redevelopment of the former St Mary’s primary school in Myers St would be used as a blueprint for the sale of the old Geelong Gaol site.
The former training prison was built in stages between 1849 and 1964 using convict labour, which was originally housed in prison hulks berthed in Corio Bay.
The first inmates were received at the gaol in 1853.
The gaol was still being used as a correctional facility as recently as 1991.
Among its former inmates were bushranger Captain Melville and more recently Mark ‘Chopper’ Read.
The prison, or rather a vacant block of land off Myers St opposite St Mary’s hall known as Gallow’s Flat, was the site of the first public executions in Geelong.
On November 9, 1854, John Roberts was hanged for administering poison and John Gunn was hanged for murder.
There were two more hangings at Gallow’s Flat and two were held inside the prison walls, where the ‘drop’ and trapdoor lever still exist.
In October, 1865, Thomas Menard was the last person to be hanged at the gaol. Executed prisoners were buried in unmarked graves in vacant ground just to the west of the gaol.
The gaol has also been used as an industrial school for girls, and from 1940 to 1947 as an army detention barracks.
In recent years the gaol has been managed by Geelong Rotary Club, which has conducted tours while Geelong Gaol Ghost Tours have also proved popular.