Melbourne Jail and Girls Weekend

Not together only link is both occurred the same day.

While waiting for Karen and Jan to arrive from Perth Murray and I spent a couple of hours at the Melbourne Goal. This self-guided tour left us both feeling utterly sick and at one stage I felt faint. I had visited Alcatraz, but the ‘spiritual feelings’ in this prison did leave us both feeling ill. Whether it was because such atrocities occurred in Australia or whether we did hear the voices of the dead – who knows.

Recounts from women convicted of idle and disorderly behaviour or stealing a hat were recorded. Women did not receive capital punishment, only men over the age of 16 received the lashings from the whip often administered by their own. I was fascinated by the ‘death’ masks, the whipping table and the ropes used to hang the convicts. Visual displays were in the cells, you could walk all 3 floors over the flagstones – that are now slippery.

Children could ‘dress up’ in the Ned Kelly replica armour and have their photo taken.

Girls Weekend

The photos tell the story……