HM Prison Geelong

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HM Prison Geelong

Location:	Geelong, Victoria
Status:	Closed
Security class:	Maximum (Male)
Capacity:	86
Opened:	1864
Closed:	1991
Managed by:	Corrections Victoria

HM Prison Geelong was a maximum security Australia prison located on the corner of Myers Street and Swanston Street in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The prison was built in stages from 1849 to 1864. Its panopticon design is based on Pentonville Prison in England. The prison was officially closed in 1991 and prisoners were moved to the newly built HM Prison Barwon in Lara.

1 History
- 1.1 Timeline
2 Notable prisoners
3 See also
4 References

[edit] 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 prison was used as an Australian Army detention barracks during World War II.

The gaol was officially closed in 1991 and is now operated by the Rotary Club of Geelong as a community project. 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. He was the last to be executed by hanging at the gaol. Of special interest is cell 47 which contains a mural painted on a wall by a prisoner, titled Window of Freedom.

[edit] Timeline

1853 - 1865 Gaol for convicts and prisoners
1865 - 1872 Industrial school for girls (street kids)
1877 - 1940 Hospital gaol
1940 - 1947 Army detention barracks during World War II
1947 - 1958 Hospital gaol
1958 - 1991 Training prison

[edit] Notable prisoners

Frank McCallum (alias Captain Melville) - Australian bushranger
James Murphy - last prisoner to be hanged in HM Prison Geelong in 1863
Mark Brandon Read - alias Chopper

[edit] See also

Everynight ... Everynight, a 1994 Australian film, filmed at the prison.
Marngoneet Correctional Centre, 300 bed prison in Lara, Victoria, opened in 2006.
Pirra Girls' Home
The gaol is now open to the public. For more information see here: http://www.geelongcity.vic.gov.au/Visiting_Geelong/Attractions/Old_Geelong_Gaol/

[edit] References

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