Old Geelong Gaol Investigation

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.

Closure

In July 1991, the prison closed its doors for the last time as a prison. The decision to close was brought about by the building of the brand new Barwon Prison complex. The majority of prisoners were transferred to the new prison and the Old Geelong Gaol was closed for good. At the time of closing, the Geelong Gaol was the oldest inhabited prison left in Victoria.

Executions

As with many 19th century gaols, the maximum penalty for the most serious of crimes was execution or as it was put in newspapers of the day “the last and awful sentence of law was carried into effect”. Geelong saw only 6 executions in its long history, John Roberts and John Gunn in 1854, James Ross in 1856, Owen McQueeney in 1858, James Murphy in 1863 and Thomas Menard in 1865. The executions of Roberts and Gunn were not held at the gaol but at a place called Gallows Flat, which is believed to be on the northwest corner of Bellerine and Myers Streets. Ross, McQueeney, Murphy and Menard were all executed in the gaol itself, with only Menard being buried in the gaol.