The Geelong Gaol first opened its doors in 1853 and ran continuously until 1991 when the gates closed behind the final prisoner.
In the intervening years it was the site of a prison for male and female prisoners, an industrial school for young girls, a hospital gaol for those sick and dying prisoners in the colony, a military detention centre and a training prison.
Based on the Pentonville system which preached silence and separation, the tiny cells with only a bucket for a toilet and few creature comforts made it a miserable existence for all who were incarcerated here.
Today it is open as a museum where you can walk in the footsteps of our colonial convict past.
