Old Geelong Gaol: visiting the museum and the ghost tours

The Old Geelong Gaol is a bluestone prison at 202 Myers Street, on the south-east side of central Geelong, that held prisoners from the 1850s until 1991 and is now a museum. Its operator lists it open every day from 12 pm to 5 pm, with tickets at $20 for adults, $18 concession and $12 for children. After dark it runs ghost tours at 8 pm. One warning before you go: the council’s own page still shows shorter weekend-only hours, so confirm on the day.

Hours and prices

Museum entry	Price
Adult	$20
Concession	$18
Child (16 and under)	$12
Companion Card holder	Free

Ghost tour, after dark	Detail
Start	8 pm, listed as daily
Length	About 1.5 hours
Adult (17 and over)	$40
Child (up to 16)	$30
Minimum age	8

Opening	Detail
Museum hours	Every day, 12 pm to 5 pm
Last entry	4:15 pm
Other times	By prior arrangement

Checked October 2026 on the operator’s website (nationalcrimejusticemuseum.com.au, which the old geelonggaol.com.au address now redirects to). Tickets can be booked online or bought at the door.

Sources disagree on hours. The City of Greater Geelong’s heritage trail page, last updated July 2026, says the gaol opens Saturday and Sunday from 1 pm to 4 pm, plus public and school holidays, and names the Rotary Club of Geelong as operator. The operator’s own site is the more direct source, which is why we give its hours above, but if you are coming on a weekday, check before you travel.

A short history

Before it was built, Geelong’s gaol was a watch-house in South Geelong. The new gaol on Myers Street was proclaimed in April 1853, its first buildings officially opened in 1854, and construction went on in stages until 1864. Prisoners did much of the work, among them men from the prison hulk Sacramento, moored in Corio Bay.

The council credits the design to Henry Ginn, whom it calls Victoria’s first colonial architect, and describes it as a Pentonville-style prison. Wikipedia describes a three-storey, cross-shaped central block with cell wings to the east and west. The walls are bluestone, and the council rates the masonry and brickwork among the best in the region. The operator calls it one of Australia’s most intact 19th-century convict prisons.

Six men were hanged at the gaol. The last was Thomas Menard, on 28 October 1865.

The building then went through a long run of uses. Records at the Public Record Office Victoria show:

• An industrial school for girls in some wings from 1869, before they became gaol wings again.
• A gaol mostly for elderly and infirm prisoners by 1880.
• A military gaol for the Army during and after the Second World War.
• His Majesty’s Gaol, Geelong, from 1947, a hospital gaol for men.
• A training prison from the 1950s, renamed HM Training Prison in 1972.
• HM Prison Geelong from May 1981, medium security.

It closed in July 1991, a year after HM Prison Barwon opened near Lara and took its prisoners. The operator counts 138 years of incarceration on the site.

What you see inside

The museum is the prison itself, and the council describes it as showing the harsh, cold and bleak conditions of prison life at the time. Bring a jacket in winter: the walls are bluestone.

Plan on about an hour for a self-guided visit.

The ghost tours

Geelong Gaol’s ghost tour, Ghost Tour: After Dark at the Old Geelong Gaol, starts at 8 pm and lasts about 90 minutes. The operator lists it as daily. Older listings from Visit Geelong & the Bellarine put the meeting point at the front gate on Myers Street, led by a guide in costume. Children must be at least 8, and the operator’s age bands put anyone 17 or over on an adult ticket.

The operator also sells paranormal investigation tours, including an extended version of about four hours. We did not capture prices for those, so check its website.

Is it haunted? The tour company sells it as one of Victoria’s most haunted buildings, and some visitors come away with stories. We make no claim either way. The documented history, with six hangings and well over a century of prisoners, is the part we can vouch for.

There is no Geelong Gaol ghost tour on GetYourGuide, so book direct with the operator. The tours shown on this page are other things to do around Geelong.

Booking tickets

Day entry can be bought online through the operator’s website or at the door, according to its listings. For the ghost tour, book online ahead of time: the operator’s booking calendar shows which nights have places. For questions, the Twisted History listing gives 1300 865 800, and the operator’s email is on its website.

Is it suitable for children?

The day museum suits school-age children who like history; tickets cover under-17s at the child rate. The ghost tour sets a minimum age of 8, and the subject matter (hangings, punishment and a dark building at night) can be a lot for younger ones. For lighter ideas, see the Geelong with kids guide.

Getting there

The gaol is about 700 m from the centre of Geelong and about 1.4 km from Geelong railway station, measured between map points, so it is a 15 to 20 minute walk. From the National Wool Museum it is about a kilometre, and from the Geelong Gallery a little more. The nearest council car park is Haymarket on Myers Street, about 550 m away, at $3.80 an hour or $15.90 all day (checked October 2026); see the Geelong parking guide for others.

Pair the gaol with the waterfront and the wool museum for a day in the city: the Geelong Waterfront guide covers the Carousel, Cunningham Pier and the painted bollards.