Old Melbourne Gaol in Sunbury

If tou go remember to take headphones as there is a self guided tour you can do on your phone.

Had an amazing tour guide named Troy, he was very entertaining and never made the tour boring. Would highly recommend to have a tour with him as it was educational and entertaining.

Worth the trip. Watchhouse tour was brilliant, with our Sergeant very knowledgeable and playing their part expertly! Great to look through the old gaol and see the hanging place of Nes Kelly

I had an ok experience. The tour started where a policewoman treated us like real criminals. It was hard to take her seriously as she kept breaking character by constantly giggling like a teenage girl obviously reminding us that the whole thing was just a pretend. The place looks empty and didnt have that feeling of macabre, which what they are promoting.

Amazing history in this place. The audio guide on the app is really great and tells a lot about the people who went through there. It is quite full on to see how small the cells were. I am not not that tall, but have to be careful not to hit my head on the doorways. I have also done the night time ghost tour and the watch house visit as well.I saw a lady take her sons photo in a cell while I was there. There was definitely the outline of someone else in the photo. No doubt about it.A really great place to visit in Melbourne if you enjoy history.

Great way to spend a couple of hours. Very interesting to read the stories of some of the inmates.

Highly Recomend visiting the Old Melbourne Gaol. Word if warning, the Watch House Tour can be a but intense but we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

So cool to see the place that Ned Kelly, the first mandolairan, spoke his last words.The building was in great condition for its age and there was lots of history within the gaol cells to read up on. Some dark things happened there, thats for sure.If you do the watch house tour, there is much graffiti to keep you entertained.

This is apart of Melbourne history that needs to be visited, we totally enjoyed it with staff making the visit a better time. We were going to do ghost tour as theres more to Gaol than we can see due to the Hangings in the past.

Interesting place with lots of history - take the time to read the graffiti throughout, the best part in my opinion 😉I just did the general admisssion and watch house tour but the evening tours sound interesting too.Reckon its not the kinda place youd want to be in on your own 👻

Very charismatic tour guide who made the visit interactive and fun. Loved seeing the different types of cells & finding out about the history of many different prisoners

This experience needs an update to justify the entry cost of $33 (Sept, 2022).There was not enough history or education on the facility. The watch house tour was enjoyable but again lacked any real information

We liked our visit to Melbourne Gaol. We spent an hour doing a self guided tour. The information in the cells is very interesting and informative. It was a great experience but it was ruined by the loud music next door. It was very annoying and distracting. We would have done the watchtower tour but the music put us off doing it.

Came for an afternoon to kill time and it was amazing. Did the self guided walk through the Gaol and had a good time. Spent a good 45 minutes walking around and reading and getting a feel for the place. Staff on site were amazing and very helpful. Had a couple of experiences we would describe as paranormal such as shadow figures in pics that can’t be explained and all of us having the same feeling from being in one of the cells (like being hit or carpet burn on the back of the headand not having it in any other.We also did a guided tour of the watch house. The tour guide was in character moustache and all and he was intense at first but very good. Informative and funny. My favourite was how he warned us about the heritage protected, offensive graffiti by saying it’s there and we shouldn’t add to it. All up with the guide, history, offensive graffiti and experience I would definitely recommend it.

This is truly an important building filled with history that also offers an insightful roleplay tour, definitely a place to visit when coming to Melbourne. My issue with my experience was that when I arrived the university which I was told also owns the Gaol was having an open day next door. They had a DJ that was blasting pop music to an empty crowd, I found this to be very disrespectful when youre learning about the horrible things that took place in this building and someone is playing Drake and Pitbull so loud its literally shaking the glass in the cells. I think if youre planning on having an open day maybe you should close the Gaol for the day considering you cant even hear the tour guide.

The guide had a lot of cool stories to tell about the inmates

I came from QLD, and this is a fantastic place staff and all very good to make u feel welcome, tho the let down of rude woman with her large camera phone thing she disturbed me as I was trans fix on looking at the hanging dock. Spoil it for as she rudly ask me to move. And plenty of room to take pictures. But I had fun.

Awesome place, I love old Gaols and Prisons.So much history here, and very interesting to learn about about the criminals of yesteryear and what life was like on the inside in the old days.Easily accessible via Public Transport in the Melbourne CBD and also very affordable. Definitely worth a visit!

We didnt buy the tickets just have a look outside. The building and views between CBD are cool.

Very interesting experience that really puts you back in time. Lots of information throughout the gaol that explains different areas, and also the backstories of different inmates. Tours are nice, recommended if you have kids. Overall not that expensive, something good to throw into your trip to Melbourne.

Loved each visit. Never fails to disappoint.The Staff are Friendly, Knowledgeable & Add to the whole experience. 10/10 every time.Old Melbourne Gaol is a go to especially for anyone who loves History/Australian History.HIGHLY RECOMMEND the events for the full experience.

Didnt have enough time to see it all but loved what I saw. The SGT we had for the watch house experience was excellent (Henderson I think). Really got into his role and I loved it.

AMAZING EXPERIENCE - A must do in Melbourne. Keep in mind where you are so be respectful and careful.

Very great place to go if you’re on vacation and like a bit of history. The watch house tour is amazing! A bit of a laugh and great way to explore whilst also getting more info. Buy tickets 2 weeks in advance if you want to do a night tour

Great piece of history and to visit.Was overrun with half school holidays and half back to school excursions, so noisy kids everywhere.

Amazing experience! Kids loved it (7 & 8 years old). Ned Kellys death mask - what more can I say.Next time we visit, I would download the app for a walking tour to listen to as you can explore solo (no need for group tour). A must visit in Melbourne!

Great trip down history’s lane. A very good museum with a lot of stories to read about. Including Ned Kelly and seeing his “death mask” was quite interesting.

Entertaining stories told in an engaging way. The guide was amazing and very funny. Would definitely recommend if your visiting Melbourne or even if you live there!

Great place to learn about the dark side of Melbournes history including our most famous bushranger, Ned Kelly

Highly recommend visiting this place and doing the Watch house experience too. There was no wait to enter for us, 2 people. Basic entry to the gaol is $20 pp for adults, with the watch house guided tour it is $30 pp. You cant access the watch house by yourself, I think the 30 min guided tour on top of exploring the gaol yourself was worth it as it was quite different to what you saw in the gaol. It was very interesting to see how everything was operated, sometimes it was quite eery seeing some death masks and ropes that people have been hung with. Theres a lot of information about Ned Kelly too.The gaol has 3 levels, you are able to go into cells on all floors with a lot of displayed objects and information plaques in most of them.What caught my eye the most was all the word/sentences carved into the doors and walls by the inmates including German war prisoners.Very interesting place and a heritage protected building, so be respectful.

Bought tickets using Klook but you can get admission there. We participated in the Watch Tower experience, that was fun, funny (our guide& insightful. The gaol we explored ourselves no guide for this portion but an interesting story in cell 9 top floor that links to cell 10 (I thinkground floor. Worth a visit.

If you want immerse yourself in part of Australia’s history then I would highly recommend visiting Old Melbourne Gaol. It is a place that sends shivers down your spine, inspires awe and dread and you can feel the history, you can hear the past occupants and I don’t know about you but I got the feeling of many eyes watching me as I read about the history on plaques on the walls of the cells. It’s a harrowing and yet great experience.

Very old and historic building! They were impressed by what they saw! I recommend to visit, and you will remember it for a long time.

Really educational and interesting. Could have spent hours walking around here. Worth the stop in

If you love history and a few creepy feels while walking around Melbourne.... Then go to the Melbourne Gaol!!I loved it.

The old Melbourne Gaol is a great place to experience Australian history. The detailed plaques in most cells have a personal insight and made it feel more real.I got the chills multiple times across cells covering three floors. Some dim lit cells and some cells with more light gave different vibes. Numerous etchings and messages left in the walls and doors added to the vibes - youll just have to work through the disappointingly large amount of graffiti.Tours were an option but queues were too large for us to bother with. A great outcome from a covid world so not really something to complain about. The sheer amount of children running around and screaming was a bit of a mood kill, but again not something to judge the Gaol on itself more just an FYI.It would be great to see more displays of relics or things from that time (given hangings were around until the 70s Im sure more letters or other items wouldve been available to add to the stories and history.

The staff were amazing. They had two events on during the day. One being a cluedo tour, which is a self-guided tour through the main cell block, whilst solving a mystery. The second was a group tour through the guard house, with guides. These tours were highly informational about the gaol, and the staff were very easy to talk to, whilst easily answering questions along the way.I recommend this place for those who love history and/or mystery.

It was a cool experience. I would have liked a proper professional tour but given the current climate I can understand why that isnt available. Its quite interesting being able to see things like torture masks and the hangmans box etc Id have loved to see the womens part of the prision but thats all closed off. All in all it was pretty cool and the cluedo game was ok too.

Interesting historic museum close to the city centre of Melbourne, part of the RMIT campus. Most cells have informartion about former prisoners or information about the system

It is a very interesting place. Has an exhibition about people who passed through, including the notorious Ned Kelly, why they were there, how did they passed away, and some pseudo-science data collected after their deaths.The self guided audio tour app has great info, but it continuously crashed and had to restart the recordings more than once.The place has great potential from a historical and touristic perspective for more engaging activities.

An interesting place to visit.Full of knowledge and information was nicely displayed & easy to comprehend.You may also experience how does it feels as the prisoner - “wait for the surprises & i won’t give you any spoiler lol”.A must visited one!

Was a very fun experience to go back to the Melbourne goal again after seeing as the last time was well before covid restrictions.A fun but somewhat limited experience considering all the changes that needed to be made so that tours could be run. Because of the restrictions things felt rushed, less interaction with staff and tour leaders, activities such as being invited to be an inmate cant be done and you have everything timed. Which is a real shame considering how good it really can be.*Cluedo is fun but you honestly you really need to only buy one booklet. As paying $5 each for a family of 6 for a tiny note pad seems pretty steep considering you can just share one book and work together. For the price it would have been nice for the kids to have a key chain, a pen or pencil.Recommended you either choose to play Cluedo or choose to take your time and read the plaques (which have the most educational valueas doing both under current restrictions means you dont have enough time.Overall still worth a visit but recommend to wait until covid restrictions ease and tours can operate as normal.

The museum was very interesting and definitely something to see in Melbourne. The staff were really great, albeit the tours were a little challenging during COVID times. Theres also activities for kids to do (Cluedowhich makes it interesting for them too.Given the influx of people at the start (timed entryand the COVID-distancing rule, youd have to wait until a cell was empty, unfortunately there simply wasnt enough time to read all the signs before having to move on to the other side.

Knowledgeable and well run private tours through the Old Melbourne Gaol and Old Magistrates Court.Would recommend if you are interested in Ned Kelly or Melbournes history.

This is a great thing to do in Melb. The staff were fantastic and the opportunity to explore the gaol freely at your pace helped you absorb the information. Great for kids too as there is interactive opportunities.

They have different tours which give different experiences and story telling. We went on a 1 hour ghost tour at night. Different

Very different but fun and interesting. Highlight was 30 or so minute tour where you and the other guests are prisoners and you get a slight feel of how things were. Also, the whole experience is as much about the prisoners that were there and their stories. Note, not really good for very young kids say under 10. A couple of them were very scared.

Oh wow, Im so glad I ventured into this place. Fascinating. Helpful and friendly staff. I booked the tour but was then refunded and given a free one. Quite lengthy too but I was enthralled by the knowledge of the guide (who also had written books that were for sale in the gift shopAfter the tour had ended I spoke to him about the gallows and ghost tours. I stayed here for hours, reading all the boards, looking around the cells, then went on to the watch house tour which I would also highly recommend as you are "processed" like a real prisoner and locked in for a moment or two for the authentic prisoner experience. I quite liked being a prisoner, I might go drink a litre of vodka and assault a police officer.

Not gonna lie, I kinda got dragged into this adventure but it turned out to be amazing. They get all 5 stars for how the tour is out on. It’s truly fascinating and on the guided parts, the guides are tremendous. You get an up close and personal look into the lives of those that stayed there and were executed there. Very informative and hands on. The Sheriffs have done an outstanding job of saving actual items important to its history and allowing you a peek into what it was like. Tip: look up Ned Kelly before you go, and learn about the most famous outlaw to be held on site.

I had a good time learning history here. Its good you can do it at your own pace, as well as have the option of doing tours. Theres lot of reading to cover, fascinating stories to read, and some articles to see. If youre a fan of Ned Kelly, this is a great place to visit. The jail is well preserved. I really enjoyed the interactive Watch House tour. That was fun and the guide really knew her stuff. Price wise, totally worth it.