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.

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 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 first 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'.

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

Notable prisoners

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

See also

• HM Prison Barwon, located at Lara, near Geelong.
• List of Australian Prisons and Detention Centres