1. Welcome to the Old Melbourne Gaol
You can listen to this introduction as soon as you enter the cellblock.We would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land; the people of the Kulin nation. We pay respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise they were the first people of Australia.Welcome to the Old Melbourne Gaol. If you came here in 1859 when this cell block was completed you would be treated a bit differently to today. Firstly you would have come through the main entrance on Franklin Street – not through the former guard house where the shop is now. You’d be stripped, bathed and deloused to get rid of all the nasty lice you’ve been carrying around. You’d be given a prison uniform and moved into a ground floor solitary cell where you would spend 24 hours of each day in complete silence.And what would you have done to end up here in 1859? You may be one of the very worst offenders having committed murder or assault. Or perhaps you’ve just had a little bit too much to drink or don’t have the means to support yourself – we’ve all been there right? Or perhaps you’re guilty of being a little crazy. I mean, just look at yourself right now. Maybe you’re walking around slowly - stopping here and there, or are you standing still, staring into space? One thing we know for sure, you’re hearing a strange voice in your head right now, aren’t you? Definite signs of lunacy right there.But it isn’t 1859 is it? It’s today. And today you can wander around as you please and talk to anyone you like. You can even decide which parts of this audio guide you’d like to listen to. Want to hear the story of Ned Kelly? Just click on the Ned Kelly Story. More interested in the architecture of this building? Click on Can a Building Cure a Criminal. Or maybe you’d prefer our 3 part crime drama “The Gallows”? You can tailor this guide to suit you. Most of the guide can be listened to anywhere in the gaol, but to get the most out of your visit we’ll tell you the best place to be at the beginning of each segment.If you have questions at any time, just find one our friendly volunteers or a staff member.And at the end? Well, unlike in 1859, you can just walk on out of here. There will be no need to dig tunnels, or don a disguise to try to escape. You’ll be free to go…
2. The Rise and Rise of CRIME in Gold Rush Victoria
The best place to listen to this segment is near the scale model in the middle of the cellblock on the ground floorImage: Melbourne Gaol precinct, c1920. SLV H98.129/16One thing was foremost in the minds of people living in Melbourne in the 1850s – GOLD. Before gold was discovered, Melbourne was a small settlement down by the Yarra River. During these early days, a gaol was already on this site. It was the only structure sitting up on a hill overlooking the township - a constant reminder that law and order was ever present. But then gold was found in regional Victoria in 1851 and the population of Melbourne quadrupled in just 3 years. People piled in from all over the world while locals also ‘threw in their lot’ to have a go at making it rich on the goldfields.As the population exploded and some people began to find their fortunes, the divide between rich and poor widened and, not surprisingly, the crime rate went through the roof. Suddenly a much larger gaol was needed and expansion began. The cell block you’re now standing in was completed in 1859 and was immediately overcrowded. Prisoners were held on ships moored in the bay while further building took place. By 1864 the gaol took up the entire city block including guards’ towers, a women’s prison, hospitals, a chapel, exercise yards and a fortress-like entrance on Franklin Street which you can still see today.If you look at the model you can see how extensive the gaol was. The gold roofs represent the buildings which are still remaining today.
3. Death Masks and Phrenology
You can listen to this segment in Cell 24 on the ground floor which has several death masks on display. If it’s too busy in there, just pick another cell with a death mask.What happens to a body after someone is executed? Initially the families could take the bodies for burial until laws were introduced preventing this. After that bodies were buried within the gaol grounds, but a few things happened before this.You may have noticed one or two plaster casts of heads sitting around the gaol. These are known as death masks. Once someone was executed, a routine autopsy was performed. After this a mould was made of the head and from this mould the death mask was created. Sometimes several masks were made.Before making the mould, male heads were shaved. Females had their hair pulled back. Sometimes hair that remained such as eyelashes were transferred from the head to the mould to the death mask, and if you look closely at some of the masks you will find these hairs still there.Why go to all this trouble? So we can have some macabre decor to display in the gaol today? No. It was so the shape of the head could be studied to determine behaviour.This ‘pseudo-science’ is called phrenology and is not really believed today, but back in the early days of the gaol it was followed avidly. Phrenologists believe that the lumps and bumps on the human head indicate strengths and weaknesses of the brain. A lump in a particular place might indicate an honest person and a hollow could indicate a lack of honesty. Want to give it a go? Feel just above the top of your forehead in the centre. Can you feel a bump? Or perhaps a distinct hollow? It was believed this area controlled your level of benevolence. In other words how kind or good you are. Hopefully you have a large bump.If it worked, phrenology could help determine who was a criminal. What a useful tool this might be for the police! Luckily for us they’ve worked out much better ways for catching criminals, like fingerprinting and DNA.
4. Can a Building Cure a Criminal?
The best place to listen to this segment is in any of the small cells on the ground floorWalking through the body of this building is certainly impressive. The iron walkways and slate flooring, shipped from the UK, and the amazing use of galvanized iron and local bluestone. But this building’s architecture is far more sinister. The layout is designed to isolate prisoners and is called The Separate System. New prisoners, or those not ‘willing’ to improve, spent 23 hours a day on their own in the ground floor cells and were expected to reform through silent contemplation. Stand in the centre of the cell facing the door and stretch out your arms. Can you touch both walls? Do you think you could stay in here for 23 hours a day?Evidence of not having contact with anyone else can be seen throughout the building. From your cell look out the door. You’ll notice across the walkway is a wall. Every cell door faces onto a wall to eliminate the chance of prisoners communicating with each other. Windows in the cells are also set high so prisoners couldn’t see out.This idea of isolation even dictated that one hour of the day when a prisoner was moved around the gaol. On these occasions prisoners were made to wear masks so they couldn’t interact with anyone else.And just in case you didn’t quite feel all alone in the world, they even laid a matt down the length of the gaol to dull the sound of footsteps.Can you imagine the complete silence? Not being able to talk or even see anyone? If you weren’t already, these conditions might make you go a little crazy, and just remember, insanity was a crime which could land you back in gaol.And then there are the gallows at the far end of the building. Have you seen them yet? If not, take a walk down the far end, away from the gift shop, until you see two sets of stairs. Opposite the stairs are the gallows. Here you’ll find the trap door in the floor above and the gallows beam above that. The gallows were right in the middle of the original gaol, just metres away from prisoners in their tiny cells. What effect would this have had on them? As they entered the building for the first time, they saw the gallows, as they walked to the chapel they saw the gallows, and those on the upper levels walked down the stairs each day, right past the gallows. A constant reminder that you could pay the ultimate price for your bad behaviour.There were about 300 prisons worldwide created on the Separate system. What do you think? Do you think you would walk out of here reformed? Would it be a deterrent against re-offending? Or would it make you lose your sanity?
5. The Ned Kelly Story
You can listen to this segment near Ned Kelly’s death mask which is in the glass case at the end of the ground floorAt 10am on the 11th of November 1880, Australia’s most notorious bushranger Ned Kelly was walked out onto the gallows and hanged to death. He was the 101st person to be publicly executed at the Melbourne Gaol.Ned Kelly was born to a poor Irish family and had several brushes with the law as a young man, including being associated with another bushranger, Harry Power, and for stealing horses. On the 15th of April 1878 Fitzpatrick, a policeman, arrived at the Kelly family’s slab hut at Eleven Mile Creek in regional Victoria, to arrest Ned’s brother Dan. After an altercation, Fitzpatrick left claiming Ned had shot him. Ned and his brother Dan took flight while their mother Ellen was arrested for aiding and abetting. She received a 3 year sentence and was in this gaol when her son was executed here.Ned and Dan were joined by friends Steve Hart and Joe Byrne and formed the infamous Kelly gang. They roamed around regional Victoria stealing horses and robbing banks. They evaded police for 18 months often being protected by the local community. At Stringybark Creek they murdered 3 policemen and efforts to catch them were ramped up. The Kelly gang’s last stand was in June 1880 in Glenrowan, where they took 62 people hostage at the Glenrowan Inn, as well as unsuccessfully attempting to derail a police train. The police surrounded the inn, eventually setting fire to it to smoke out the gang. The siege lasted 12 hours.In the early hours of the morning, Ned walked out from behind nearby trees. Through the mist he looked like a ghost. He was wearing custom-made armour covering his head and torso but leaving his limbs exposed. Soon realising this weakness, the police aimed for his legs. Ned was captured alive with 28 wounds to his arms and legs. The rest of the Kelly gang died at the scene.Ned was transported to Melbourne and spent 6 weeks in the prison hospital recovering before being sentenced to death. On his final night he was able to speak with his mother, Ellen, who was still imprisoned. She reportedly told him to ‘be brave and die like a Kelly’.After his execution, several death masks were made, one of which you can find in the gaol today. Another was displayed in Bourke Street shortly after his death.
6. The Gallows Part 1: The Crimes of Henry Howard
We recommend listening to The Gallows trilogy anywhere near the gallows at the far end of the buildingOn the 14th of August 1875, 12 year old Frank Wright had dinner with his mum, Elizabeth, her partner, Henry Howard, and their friend, Thomas Harmen, at The Frankston Hotel, where Elizabeth was the licensee. Elizabeth and Henry Howard were in a long-term relationship, despite Henry’s wife and children living not far away in Mornington. 12 year old Frank called Henry ‘father’. After dinner Henry sent Frank to bed and while undressing he heard his mum scream. Returning to the dining room he saw their friend Thomas Harmen holding his chest as he walked outside. He’d been stabbed and died on the footpath. Frank found his mum lying on the dining room floor, also stabbed. She raised her head, it dropped back to the floor and she was dead. Meanwhile, Henry Howard sat on a chair by the fire, looking on. Five weeks later, Henry was sentenced to the gallows for murder with one key piece of evidence being that he had sharpened the knife used in the attacks on the afternoon of the murders. Kitchen workers at the hotel testified the knife was always blunt. This crime was planned. Henry was the 98th hanging at the Melbourne Gaol. In total there were 133.Henry’s death took place here inside the gaol. The first 6 hangings were outside and attracted large crowds. A further 76 were executed inside the gaol walls until 1865 when they were moved inside to where the gallows are today. 51 people were executed here. In some cases 3 people were hanged at the same time.After Henry’s death, a request was made by a wax museum to make a mould of his head. As was custom, the family of the victim were sent the request, which in this case, was Elizabeth’s 12 year old son Frank. His answer – No.So why talk about Henry, of all the 133 hangings? By all accounts, he’s just another guy who killed his lover and another man in what was probably a jealous rage. But in Henry’s case, we have a firsthand account of his death. An account that comes from the governor of the gaol, John Buckley Castieau, who kept a detailed diary. This account can be listened to in Part 2 of The Gallows.
7. The Gallows Part 2: The Execution of Henry Howard
You can listen to this segment anywhere near the gallows down the far end of the buildingThe following is an extract from the diary of John Buckley Castieau, the governor of the gaol at the time of Henry Howard’s execution.4th October 1875.This was the day fixed for the execution of Howard. The chief warders differed in opinion as to the proper length for the rope and I had to decide between them. This necessitated the altering and making it shorter. There was then the other necessary preparation for the executioner to be looked after. When I believed all was in readiness I left the chief warders and went to my office. Of course there were lots of applicants for admission to the hanging and I was glad when the time came for the sickening business to be completed. There were about 25 spectators. It was 10 o’clock when I accompanied or rather took the sheriff to Howard’s cell where he was busily engaged with Mr Moore, the Church of England Chaplain. Howard staggered a little when he was called and in reply to the sheriff who asked him if he had anything to say to him, said “To you, sir, no, Sir.” I then reminded him that he had asked to be allowed to make some remarks and that if he still wished to say anything he must do so now. The condemned man then walked out on the scaffold and turning aside from the crowd, looked sideways at me and said that he only wished to say that he acknowledged his guilt and the justice of his sentence, that he had born no ill will to the man Harman and that he hoped from what Mr Moore had taught him to believe he died a Christian and that his soul would be saved.The hangman, an ugly looking scoundrel with a white night cap attached to the waist, now made his appearance. He rapidly seized the prisoner’s arms and fastened them behind his back. Then when he had put the rope about Howard’s neck and the white cap over his face he quickly drew back the fatal bolt. With a bound the body seemed to fly into the air and then to fall with a thud motionless at the end of the rope. For a second or two it appeared that all was over but then came a terrible twitching of the chest and a gasping for breath that would have made Howard’s face a horrible sight to see had the night cap not covered his features while he thus suffered for his crimes. Once I heard almost a groan then a lifting up again of the brawny chest and then, thank God, all was over. The rope had not been placed tightly enough round the neck before the bolt was pulled. The knot in consequence had slipped to the front and Howard was suffocated instead of having his neck snapped as is usual with men hanged in the Gaol. I was very glad when the execution was over. Howard’s body was taken down in about half an hour afterwards when I pressed his chest. There issued a gasp that was almost like a groan and I was for a second under the apprehension that the body had been taken down too soon. It was however of course but a nervous fancy and departed from me almost as soon as it came.Howard’s face was terribly discoloured and remained so until he was buried. The usual inquest on his body was held and the usual verdict given and preparations made for his burial in the Gaol yard. Howard left a long communication for me to send to his friends. I did so.5th October 1875Had an interview with the Sheriff, Mr Wright. Wright spoke about the execution and said he had been afraid something would go wrong and that he had dreamt about it for two or three nights. I told him that in my opinion nothing had gone wrong, that Howard had had a merciful death and that though it was true he did not when he fell instantaneously cease to breathe, yet that he did so in a minute afterwards. I told the sheriff of executions that I had seen where the hangman had actually to hang on to the legs of the man after they dropped to put a stop to their convulsions and of other cases where the rope had nearly cut the head off, and of one other where the rope had broken and the condemned man had to be hanged over again. I pointed out that at Howard’s execution there was nothing forgotten and that everything had been decently and yet expeditiously managed. So far I spoke up for the management of the Gaol and for the hangman. … I told all this but I said nothing about the time I laid awake last night and how for hours the ugly rope and its dreadful load kept dangling before my eyes whenever I chanced to doze.”
8. The Gallows Part 3: Henry Howard's Hangman
You can listen to this segment anywhere near the gallows at the far end of the building or explore some of the hangman's tools on the middle floorHow do you become a hangman? What kind of person do you have to be? Most of the time they put their hand up for the job. Often these men were prisoners and if not at the time, they ended up in gaol sooner or later. Does this give you an idea of what kind of personality they had? What do you think? Were they state-sanctioned serial killers?Henry Howard’s executioner was a man called Michael Gately. Described by the Gaol Governor as a ‘real brute who would boil babies’. Gately spent much of his life in prison having been transported to Australia as a convict. In Victoria he had many, many convictions which give us an insight into his character.In February 1876 he was given a 6 month term for vagrancy and later that year he was given 3 years for malicious wounding. In February 1879 he received a 9 month sentence for attempted suicide and in December the same year another 6 months for assault. The list goes on and on.But how did he become a hangman? Reportedly as a reward. Whilst incarcerated at Pentridge Prison, Gately stepped in and saved a guard who was overpowered by a group of prisoners. It is said he asked to be made a hangman in return.If not already incarcerated, the hangman stayed in one of the gaol cells for several days prior. This was in part to ensure the executioner was sober on the day and also to prepare for the gruesome task ahead. Preparations would include checking all the equipment while someone else weighed the condemned man to calculate the drop required to ensure an instantaneous death. The aim was to break their neck. If the drop was too short they would most likely die from suffocation, leading to a drawn out painful death, and if the drop was too long their head may just come clean off. As we know from Part 2 of The Gallows the placement of the knot was also important. At 10am Henry Howard walked onto the trapdoor, Gately placed the noose around his neck, covered his face with a hood, stepped back and pulled the lever. The knot became displaced and Henry suffocated to death.As well as a hangman, Gately also put his hand up to doll out lashings to other inmates. Because the local press often covered executions and punishment at the gaol Gately became somewhat of a ‘celebrity’. He often appeared in the newspapers and was recognised around Melbourne. One newspaper reporting it was difficult for him to get around because of the mob of people shouting after him all the time.In a curious turn of events, Gately was allowed to marry fellow prisoner Mary Jane Parsons in 1876. She was 19, he was 52. But this was no love story. In 1879 Gately was given a 6 month sentence for threatening to kill Mary. After being released on Christmas Eve that same year he wound up back there for a further 6 months after threatening her again. By the time he was released this time, she had left for Sydney with another man.If you want to learn more about the Hangmen and see some of the equipment used explore the cells on the middle floor.
9. Could You Handle it in Here?
This section can be listened to anywhere in the gaolSo you’ve come to the Old Melbourne Gaol to learn a bit about the past. To see how people were treated way back when. But it’s all just a little too easy to imagine someone else from a bygone era being in here isn’t it? You’re probably thinking ‘how terrible it must have been for those poor, poor people’. But what if it was you in here? What if you found yourself on the wrong side of the law, went before a judge or jury and found yourself being transported through the front gates of the prison? What would it really be like for you to end up in a place like this?Probably the first thing to hit you when you came here was the smell. The putrid rancid smell wafting up from the open cesspits just outside. Or the stench coming from each cell. In this cell block alone there are 97 cells. That’s 97 cells with 97 toilet buckets, very little in the way of ventilation, and inmates who only wash once a week … Now imagine you’re in the middle of a stinking hot Australian Summer…At first, you’d be moved into a ground floor cell under the watchful eyes of the guards. After doing your time here you quite literally ‘moved up in the world’. That’s right, you move up the stairs where the cells are larger.Here you would share a cell with fellow prisoners. Finally some company! But sharing a cell may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Firstly, the cells aren’t all that big. Secondly you still only had that one toilet bucket – to share.And then there’s the food. What did you have for breakfast this morning? In here, you’d have a cupful of boiled grain, that’s right, boiled grain. Lunch would be boiled meat and potatoes. And dinner? Well it would just be bread. And top that all off with a very limited water supply.Do you like a nice hot shower every day? Well you wouldn’t get one of those in here. Prisoners were allowed one bath per week and multiple people could use the bath water before you. After bathing you’d be given one clean uniform to last you until the next week.Most prisoners in the upper cells were put to work. If you’re female, you’d most likely be in the laundry or, if you’re educated, you may even be given the job of teaching some of the incarcerated children. If you’re a man you might have the job of crushing rock.On the up side, you’d be paid for the work you did. Not straight away of course, but when you were released. So all that hard work wouldn’t be a total waste, and you’d have a little something to help you get by on the outside.But of course, we’re imagining you being a model prisoner. Would you be? We know you’ve already broken the law to end up in here, even if it was only for swearing, or being disorderly. Maybe you’re a little on the wild side? Maybe you don’t like to follow the rules. Well what would happen to you in here?You could stay in the separation cells on the ground floor for longer or you could have your sentence increased. Or you could receive a more ‘physical’ punishment. If you are under 16 and male you’d be whipped on the backside using a cane. If you are a man over 16, you’d be tied to a whipping triangle and receive lashes from the cat-o-nine tails. This was a multi-tailed whip where every chord had a knotted end and was designed to cut into the skin. But don’t worry, they only wanted to hurt you, not kill you. To make sure this didn’t happen leather belts were fitted around your throat and midsection and the chords soaked in salt. This made the weight of the chords heavier and would have caused a ‘slightly more painful sting’, but at least the wounds were clean, right?You can see a whipping triangle and a display of punishment objects on the ground floor.
10. Inmates: Aboriginal Australians
You can listen to this segment anywhere in the gaol. When you have finished your visit to the Old Melbourne Gaol we recommend stopping by the Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner memorial which is situated in front of the original gaol entrance on Franklin Street. One of our staff members can give you directions.Hello my name is Rueben Berg and I’m a Gunditjmara man.Early European settlement did not bode well for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders already inhabiting the Australian landscape. They were systematically removed from their traditional hunting grounds and expected to conform to European laws, which were far removed from their own. This clash of cultures was reflected in the prison population with many Aboriginal people ending up in here. In fact 5 of the first 9 people hanged at this gaol were Aboriginal men. The first two hangings that took place here were Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, who were sentenced to death for murdering two whalers. Both from Tasmania, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner came to the mainland and were travelling with 3 Aboriginal women, one of whom identified one of the whalers as having assaulted her and murdered her husband.It is believed the whalers were killed in retribution as was Aboriginal custom, but we don’t know for sure, because Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were not allowed to speak for themselves at their own trial, nor were any Aboriginal witnesses allowed to give evidence in their defence. The jury was entirely made up of European colonists. There was probably only ever going to be one verdict – the gallows. One thing we do know is that the judge’s reason for sentencing the men to death was to set an example to other Aboriginal people. In his ruling the judge said the hangings were to ‘deter similar transgressions’. Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were hanged on 20 January 1842 and were the first public executions in Melbourne. This took place just outside the gaol in front of a large crowd. Their deaths were neither quick nor painless, and were witnessed by other Aboriginal people living in the area. Today a memorial stands in Franklin Street.
11. Inmates: Children
You can listen to this segment anywhere in the gaolIn 1875 there were 262 children under the age of 15 staying in this gaol. 39 of these were under the age of 10.Why? Was the gaol seen as a refuge for homeless children? Or were they joining parents who were also in prison? This was true in some cases. Ned Kelly’s mother, Ellen, took her 3 day old daughter into Beechworth gaol and when she was transfered here, Alice came with her.It looks like most children ended up here just for being homeless. Like 3-year old Michael Crimmins who received a 6 month sentence for being ‘idle and disorderly’.In 1859 Michael was arrested along with his 5yr old sister Maria and both were sentenced to 6 months in gaol. Why were they wandering around the streets aimlessly? Well it all goes back to the gold. The chance to ‘strike it rich’ on the goldfields had been too much for their father who took off leaving Michael, Maria and their mother with no visible means of support. Their mother had been arrested 3 days previously for vagrancy and also sentenced to 6 months in gaol. Was this some sort of social service? Was 6 months in prison better than living on the streets? After 2 months, the family was moved to one of the prison hulks moored in the bay, which, at the time, were being used to deal with overcrowding at the gaol. The family was released together and finally moved to the goldfields to be with their father who had struck it rich and found the largest lode of gold ever and they all lived happily ever after in a big mansion where Michael was surrounded by toys as far as the eye could see. Well no… that’s not entirely true. They did join their dad on the goldfields but there was no fortune to be made. We know this because the mother, Maria Crimmins, wound up back in gaol again for vagrancy a year later, and there was no ‘happily ever after’ for young Michael Crimmins. He died of typhoid at the age of 8.
12. Inmates: Women
You can listen to this segment anywhere in the gaolIt wasn’t easy being a woman in the early years of European settlement in Victoria. If you weren’t married, couldn’t read or write, didn’t have a trade - then a life of crime may have been your only option. And this was a terribly hard cycle to break as Beatrice Phillips knew only too well.In 1878 twin girls, Beatrice and Harriet Phillips, were born in the small goldmining town of Rushworth, Victoria. The death of her mother just 13 days later and the death of her twin Harriet a year later set in motion a lifetime of hardship with Beatrice ending up with well over 200 convictions for vagrancy, swearing, wilful damage, and drunkenness, to name a few.Not a lot is known about why Beatrice turned to a life of crime, but losing her mother and twin sister must have taken its toll. Mixed with the economic depression of the 1890s and a severe drinking problem, Beatrice became a constant presence at the gaol with conviction after conviction. Many offences were for acts which wouldn’t land you in gaol today. Like swearing or having no lawful means of support. And sentences for such crimes weren’t exactly short either. In 1904 at the age of 26 Beatrice was given a 12 month sentence for vagrancy. In other words a remedy for Beatrice’s homelessness was to give her a home at the Old Melbourne Gaol.Beatrice’s trade was listed as a Servant but how was a woman in and out of gaol ever going to get a job? Back then, there was little support given to women when they left prison. In 1907, having found herself back in court after recently being released, Beatrice said in her defence: ‘It is very hard to get work when you come out of that place; no respectable person will take you’. The stigma of being a female prisoner followed Beatrice and a continuous cycle of drinking, vagrancy, and petty theft lasted most of her life. She died in 1945, aged 67.You can learn more about women in the prison in cells on the middle floor.
13. Inmates: Non-English Speakers
You can listen to this segment anywhere in the gaol or view Fatta Chand’s death mask on the ground floorDuring the early days of this gaol, Victoria was a melting pot of different cultures as people from all over the world came here looking for Gold. This resulted in many people going to trial who couldn’t speak English. Their only means of communication in the courtroom was through a translator. Like 24 year old Fatta Chand from India. Fatta and a friend, Juggo Mull, worked as hawkers travelling around the goldfields in regional Victoria selling wares to miners. In November 1890, Fatta and Juggo were camped near Healesville, a small town North-East of Melbourne, and were last seen together on Friday night walking towards the township. Fatta was next seen on his own on the Sunday and again on the Monday morning boarding a train bound for Melbourne.So what happened to Juggo Mull that fateful weekend? His body was found partially buried and covered with ferns on a property so remote it had no visible paths into it. The body had several deep gashes to the face, an almost completely severed head and no arms and legs. The missing limbs were found stashed under an abandoned hut nearby.Aboriginal trackers were brought in and they located the murder site about 80 metres from the hut. Here they found bone fragments, a pool of blood, a pair of shoes and several tomahawks. The trackers later testified that Juggo had been killed by a tomahawk blow to the back of the head, his body savagely mutilated, then his own turban was wrapped around his neck and used to drag his body to where he was eventually found.Fatta was arrested and immediately put on trial for murder. He denied the charges through his court appointed translator and the jury failed to come to a decision. One of the jurors said he “could not condemn a man to death based on just circumstantial evidence”. A new jury was formed and Fatta was sentenced to death. He became the 112th person executed at the Melbourne Gaol on the 27th of April 1891. It was a particularly busy time for public executions in Melbourne with Fatta’s being the fourth hanging in just a month.
14. Escape!
You can listen to this segment anywhere in the gaolYou may have noticed this is no 5 star hotel and some of the guests may have wanted to leave voluntarily. Many tried, but only a few succeeded… if only for a few hours.In the 1850s two men, Smith and Staunton, escaped by crawling through a 13-inch (33cm) pipe going through the gaol wall leading to a cesspit outside. Smith was recaptured within hours and returned to prison. Staunton was more successful managing to make it to Sydney where he was arrested months later. However whilst he was being transported back to Melbourne he escaped, never to be seen again.In 1880 a female prisoner, Ann Davis, used the Gaol’s most notorious prisoner Ned Kelly to escape. She was a trusted prisoner who worked as a housemaid for the gaol governor, who lived onsite. While everyone was distracted by Ned Kelly’s trial, Ann changed into clothes belonging to the governor’s wife and simply walked out the gate. She disappeared into the huge crowd waiting outside but was recaptured three years later.
15. Strange Happenings at the Old Melbourne Gaol
You can listen to this segment anywhere in the gaol. Or in a cell with the door closed ... if you're game!With 133 executions on this site, and countless other deaths, this gaol has seen its fair share of misery, pain and death - and it’s no surprise some rather strange occurrences have happened within these walls. Visitors have reported the feeling of someone following them closely, or of being shoved in the chest, of cold chills and hairs on end. Have you felt anything strange yet?An entire tour group including their guide stepped into a cell one night, closed the door and it locked behind them. There was no one else in the Gaol. But how is this possible? You can only lock the door from the outside. Sceptical? Go on, try and lock yourself in a cell from the inside. It’s impossible, isn’t it? Visitors often report one cell in particular where these strange feelings occur. But we’re not going to tell you which one. We’ll let you work that one out all by yourself.This brings us to the end of our audio guide. If I’ve left you with any lingering questions please ask one of our friendly volunteers or staff members.
