Old Beechworth Gaol — Attraction in Beechworth

Beechworth Gaol had not only the Kelly & gang incarcerated here but also Kelly's mentor & tutor - the "gentlemen" Bushranger Harry Power. Somehow Harry Power's tales are subsumed by Ned Kelly's but it is just as interesting. Other inmates here included a whole bunch of modern day tax evaders & Melbourne's infamous underbelly crims.

The newer additions include the conjugal visits area in the gaolers yard as you make your way inside on the right & a swimming pool area - gated off on the left.

I expected the Gaol to be bigger but it is small with about 110 to 123 inmates capacity. There is the heritage Kelly era wing, the newer ones plus the Hangman's room & the Noose.

A group of us - pre-purchased online tix for the 10 am tour Sun 23 Feb recently. A huge crowd of almost 40. The next tour only had a handful - so perhaps this is a better timeslot. Free parking in front of entry gates & also side street. There is a Cafe Truck in the entry yard too & a nice reception re-purposed area & toilets inside before tour starts.

Tour ran for 45 mins & Guide thankfully used audio speaker. Typical Oz humour delivered with full on ocker tones- which you wonder if overseas visitors understood.

Exercise yard - with the metal mirror (you will find out why) is also the site of 1800s hard labour (breaking granite & carting it), the chain gang tales all made for the grim reality not only the gold rush lawless period but also the 20th century penitentiary system.

You get more of the blood & gore penitentiary stories under the pentagonal wooden roofed & similar shaped guard room inside. The replica Kelly gang armour suite is lined up here (by this time it is an oft repeated sight for us having started the Kelly trail at Glenrowan.). For dedicated Ned Kelly & Harry Power stories - do the Ned Kelly Trail tour run by the Visitor's Centre.

Beats me how the confined cells & dire deeds of yore can be re-purposed into arts, entertainment & hospitality...Takes it beyond the "dark" tourism into the 21st century enlightenment I suppose. One way of maintaining historical sites like this for future generations but the essence of harsh reality of colonial past would be lost surely. Whatever works to make it a viable site. Pentridge Prison is already a popular re-purposed hub but ..er..rrr..rr - it...

What a fantastic experience this was, we went here for a family day outing and we had explored the other small museums that were in the vicinity. We decided to book in online which was so easy and quick and was done with a tour guide. We ended up coming on a family open day which was a fun event although not a lot was going on, it was a cute and a light event.

We went with our kids and nephew, we met out the front of the goal and listened to an informative talk about the history of the Goal, then went inside the rec yard where we learnt more about the Goal and some of the stories of the inmates. We went inside the cell blocks and the talk continued we were then given about 10mins to have a free look around the bottom floor, the top floor was not accessible due to safety regulations. But the second floor was apparently the same as the bottom floor. You don't get to go through the entire building, this is probably having a lot to do with that there are other businesses now occupying the Goal.

It certainly was an interesting experience, i would have loved to see some other parts of the building, not just the cell blocks and parts of the yard. But the whole family really enjoyed the experience.

Accessibility for aged and Disable: There are some minor steps into the goal, we had a lady with a pram, and they accommodated the mum to access the area, so I would assume that a wheelie walker or wheelchair would be accommodated for. It can be a bit hot during the warmer months as we stood outside listening to the talk which was a little uncomfortable, but at the time we went was tolerable. Maybe on hot days they change where they do the talk.

Food and drink: I believe they have a cafe there that runs most days of the week, it seemed a permanent fixture to the place and also there is a cafe.

I would recommend coming here and do the other museums as well as they support each other in the history of Beechworth.

hope you enjoy it as much...

This place could be made into so much more and left me very underwhelmed.

Whilst the tour guide had good information about Beechworth's general history that gave the gaol context, there just wasn't a lot to 'experience' here: there wasn't a lot of areas you were permitted access too, and the place looks shabby, not quite historical yet not modern either.

Because the gaol was in use until 2004, it's a mix-match of 150-odd years of fixings: walking around, it's like someone didn't clean up properly before they left and that feeling of history is lost (oddly painted cells, beautiful stonework that's had an ugly render, old toilets, whiteboards, general clutter and signage). It would be lovely to see it fully reverted to more of its original state, as it would have been during Beechworth's heyday. I'd love a self-guided option to compliment the tour where you could peruse the whole facility, have it set up museum-style, with more information, artefacts and stories throughout that you could read about as you wander to more deeply appreciate the role prisoner's had in the area (like you might experience at other historical sites such as Port Arthur).

It was cool hearing about Ned Kelly, seeing the cell his mother was imprisoned in, and knowing some of the infamous Australian underbelly figures who spent time at this prison, but this tour didn't provide much for kids (who need to see rather than just listen) and it was an expensive 45-minute tour ($60 for 1 adult and 2 kids).

This site really has so much potential (and I really did like the...