HM Prison Geelong
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2007) |
Victoria | |
| Coordinates | 38°9′14″S 144°21′56″E / 38.15389°S 144.36556°E |
|---|---|
| Status | Closed |
| Security class | Maximum (male) |
| Capacity | 86 |
| Opened | 1864 |
| Closed | 1991 |
| Managed by | Corrections Victoria |
HM Prison Geelong was a maximum security Australia
Pentonville Prison in England. The prison was officially closed in 1991 and prisoners were moved to the newly built HM Prison Barwon in Lara
. The building now functions as a museum for the history of the prison.
History
The gaol was built by prisoners who slept on high security
barges on Corio Bay during construction. The three-storey central block is cruciform with east and west wings serving as cells, the north wing as an administration block, and the southern wing as a kitchen, hospital and a tailoring workshop. The Australian Army used the prison as a detention barracks during, and for a few years after, World War II
.
The government closed the gaol in 1991 and the site now operates as a museum. It is open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays and daily during public and school holidays. The gaol remains mostly unchanged. A gallows exhibit recreates the 1863 hanging of James Murphy, who battered Constable Daniel O'Boyle to death at the
Warrnambool
court house. Cell 47 is of special interest as it contains a mural painted on a wall by a prisoner, titled Window of Freedom. In 2021, buildings constructed in the 1970s were removed to restore the site to a more historic look.
Timeline
- 1853–1865: Gaol for convicts and prisoners
- 1865–1872: Industrial school for girls (typically those convicted of vagrancy)
- 1877–1940: Hospital gaol
- 1940–1947: Army detention barracks during World War II
- 1947–1958: Hospital gaol
- 1958–1991: Training prison
- 2011–current: Guided tours.
Notable prisoners
- Frank McCallum (alias Captain Melville) – Australian bushranger
- Mark "Chopper" Read
- Angus Murray – an associate of gangster Squizzy Taylor who escaped in 1923 only to be executed for his role in a murder in Melbourne shortly after. He was in cell 74 and the hole in the floor that was caused when he dropped a brick upon leaving still remains.
Executions
| Name | Date of Execution | Crime |
|---|---|---|
| George Roberts | 16 December 1854 | Poisoned George Scott |
| John Gunn | 9 November 1854 | Murder |
| James Ross | 22 April 1856 | Murder |
| Owen McQueeny | 20 October 1858 | Murder of Elizabeth Lowe, aka the "Green Tent Murder" |
| James Murphy | 6 November 1863 | Murder of a policeman at Warrnambool Court House |
| Thomas Menard | 28 October 1865 | Murder of an Irishman named Sweeney |
In media
The 1994 film Everynight ... Everynight was shot at the prison. In 2015, the prison also served as a location for Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race.
See also
- Marngoneet Correctional Centre, 300 bed prison in Lara, Victoria, opened in 2006.
- Pirra Homestead