Angus Murray was the last man to be executed on the gallows of Old Melbourne Goal in 1924. His life began in Adelaide and would see him incarcerated in 4 states – South Australia, Western Australia NSW and Victoria. He became a master thief, a conman and a bigamist. Murray’s last job after his audacious…
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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreIn 1889, two wily old convicts named Frederick Clarke and Christopher Farrell made the most infamous escape in Geelong Gaol history. Overpowering a warder in the middle of the night they used a skeleton key to make good their escape over the wall. Join Deb from the Geelong Gaol Museum and Twisted History to hear…
Read MoreWhat drove a man to murder his neighbours wife and his very own son and leave his wife in a pool of blood clinging to life. James Ross would be executed for his crimes at the Geelong Gaol, becoming the first regional execution following the passing of the Private Executions Bill, taking executions from the…
Read MoreThe story of Edward Fuller and his sister in law Ellen is one of jealousy, infedility and murder. The events of May 1869 in a small house in Noble Street, Chilwell led to the death of one man and set in play a series of events that led to the entire Fuller family ending up…
Read MoreIn this episode we have a look into the life and crimes of one of the more cheekier escapes from the Geelong Gaol. 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 of…
Read MoreIn October 1863, Elijah Dixon alias Charles Alfred Dives took an axe and murdered his wife and two small daughters just outside Ballarat. The couple’s two sons were left alive. What made a husband and father take this course of action – what is jealousy over his belief his wife was being intimate with other…
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