Old Melbourne Gaol

This bluestone prison in the city centre operated from the 1840s and held some of colonial Victoria's most notorious inmates. Its most famous prisoner was the bushranger Ned Kelly, who was hanged here in 1880; the gallows and his death mask are among the exhibits. The three tiers of cramped cells now display the stories of executions, crime and punishment in the colony, and night tours dramatise its grim past. Adjoining the gaol are a former police watch house and city court, allowing visitors to experience a mock arrest and lock-up.