Not far from the bustle of Melbourne’s CBD stood the Old Melbourne Gaol, a reminder of Victoria’s colourful past. Built in the mid-1800s, it saw the incarceration of many hardened criminals and served as the colonial city’s first prison. However, it is best known for its most famous inmate, the bushranger Ned Kelly, whose memory has been immortalized through numerous tales of bravery, resistance, and rebellion.
As the story goes, Ned Kelly was the epitome of the rugged Aussie battler, who, having fallen afoul of the law, adopted a life of crime out of sheer necessity. However, it was the gallant stand he and his gang made during their final standoff at Glenrowan that forever etched his name in the annals of folk history. There, Kelly, clad in a suit of homemade armour, fought to his last breath despite being outnumbered and outgunned.
He was eventually captured and taken to the Old Melbourne Gaol where he was hung for his crimes. His body was reportedly buried in an unmarked grave on the prison grounds. Since his death, there have been countless reports of ghostly apparitions, strange sounds, and unexplainable occurrences within the prison’s limestone walls. Many believe that these are the restless spirits of the condemned, still languishing from beyond the grave. The most frequent of these sightings is the ghost of Ned Kelly himself, moving silently through the cells and hallways.
In recent years, the Old Melbourne Gaol has been transformed into a museum, showcasing the rich, albeit macabre, history of Victoria’s early days. The tales of its spectral inhabitants, not least of which being Ned Kelly, continue to attract visitors, eager to learn more about Australia’s colonial heritage and perhaps even see a ghost or two.