In July 1853, a group of bushrangers came up with an audacious plan to rob the McIvor Private Gold Escort as it left the goldfields to meet up with the Government escort to Melbourne. Although the heist was originally successful, the plan led to the deaths of four of the men, three by execution and…
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The Australian Heritage Festival is coming to Victoria between April 18th through to May 18th. Their theme this year is Shared Stories. As part of this festival, I will be delivering two tours at the Geelong Gaol on 23/4/2023 and 7/5/2023, both at 1.30pm. The tour will cover the history of the goal and the…
Read MoreChristmas is supposed to be the season of giving and family and presents. But it is not everyone’s favourite time of year. A quick look through the newspapers of the day revealed no less than 16 murders and 2 attempted murders here in Victoria, Australia. And I am sure there are many more interstate and overseas. This episode…
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The Hassett family have their origins in Birdhill, Ireland and is just one of the families with links to the Geelong Gaol. Over a period of 40 years, at least 4 members of the family have been prisoners of the Geelong Gaol. It was initially thought this story was of one prisoner who took his own…
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In September 1869, a prisoner boldly escaped the Geelong Gaol by changing clothes in a water closet and walking straight out past the Governor’s office. John McHenry or James Clark as he was originally known grew up in the streets of Shoreditch in London. Before coming to Australia he would see the inside of some…
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In 1853, Trooper John Goldman shot his superior Corporal William Harvey in his tent at Buningyong following an altercation with a local shopkeeper, Edward Adams, over the ownership of some boxes. Harvey died 24 hours later and Goldman disappeared for 9 months before being arrested. At his trial before Judge Redmond Barry, Goldman was convicted…
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In 1865, two prisoners were let out of the cooks cells to make their way to the kitchens to cook for the rest of the prisoners. But these two men had other ideas – for one man it would result in him never returning to the Geelong Gaol. For the other his freedom was shortlived….
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For over 170 years, the old Geelong Gaol has overlooked the township of Geelong. It has been a place of incarceration of men, women and children during its 138 years of operational history. Some of the roles it has been used may surprise you! In this episode we revisit the history, the building and some…
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Welcome to our podcast page for Locked up with History! My name is Deb Robinson and this podcast is associated with the Geelong Gaol Musuem and Twisted History where I have been manager for quite a few years now! For years, I have been collecting research documents whether it was for a new tour script,…
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