Old Melbourne Gaol

Old Melbourne Gaol är ett gammalt fängelse som ligger mitt i stan. Fängelset användes 1842-1929 och under den perioden hängdes 133 människor här. Bland andra den kända Ned Kelly som hängdes den 11 November 1880. Han var den 101:ste att hängas här. Enligt namnlistan vi läste på i fängelset så fanns det en svensk man som hängts. Men namnet var inte speciellt svenskt, så jag vet inte om det stämmer. 

Old Melbourne Gaol is an old prison in Melbourne City. The Gaol was used between 1842-1929 and during that time 133 prisoners was hanged. Among others the famous Ned Kelly who was hanged 11 November 1880. He was the 101st person to be hanged at the Gaol. We saw a Swedish name on the list of hanged persons. But the name was not really Swedish, so I don´t know if its correct. 

Fängelset ser ut så här på insidan och har tre våningar

The Gaol looks like this on the inside and there is three floors

Cellerna är inte stora.. Det enda som fanns i cellen var en tunn madrass. Känns som att det var väldigt kallt med stenväggarna... Fångar som gjort sig skyldiga till tex mord eller rån fick börja sin tid i fängelset på första våningen. De fick inte prata med andra och fick bara komma ut ut cellen en timme om dagen. De fick bara duscha och byta kläder en gång i veckan och gå i kyrkan på söndagar.  Nedan följer en text jag hittat på Wikipedia med lite info på engelska:

"Prisoners convicted of serious crime, such as murder, arson, burglary, rape and shooting, would begin their time on the ground floor with a time of solitary confinement. They were also forbidden from communicating with other prisoners, which was strictly enforced by the usage of a silence mask, or calico hood, when outside their cells. They would only be given a single hour of solitary exercise a day, with the remaining 23 hours spent in their cells. Inside the cells, prisoners would be able to lie on a thin mattress over the slate floors. They could only bathe and change clothes once a week, and attend the chapel on Sundays (with a Bible provided to promote good behavior). Prisoners might only have been allowed to finally socialise with other prisoners towards the end of their sentences."

Om fångarna uppförde sig fick de så småningom flytta till andra våningen och då oxå börja arbeta. Männen med att hacka sten och kvinnorna lagade mat, sydde och städade. När deras tid i fängelset nästan var slut så fick de flytta upp till tredje våningen och bo i celler med upp till sex personer. Här följer lite mer text från Wikipedia med lite mer info om hur det gick till på fängelset:

"The routine for prisoners was regulated by a system of bells, and enforced by punishments; prisoners who obeyed the rules would be promoted to the second floor – whereby they would be allowed to work in the yards everyday. Male prisoners would perform hard labour – including breaking rocks, and other duties in the stone quarries, while women would sew, clean and cook. Women would also make shirts and waistcoats for male prisoners, as well as act as domestic servants for the governor and his family. Prisoners who had become trusted, those nearing the completion of their sentence, and debtors, were housed on the third floor communal cells. These top level cells were large, and held up to six prisoners at time; and were mostly reserved to prisoners convicted of minor crimes such as drunkenness, vagrancy, prostitution or petty theft."

Det fanns gallergrind och en tjock dörr in till cellerna

Ned Kelly var född någon gång mellan juni 1854 och juni 1855 och var en Irländsk/Australiensisk "bushranger". Han var hästtjuv och har även mördat några poliser. I juni 1880 tog det roliga slut och Ned Kelly greps efter att ha blitt skjuten i benet av poliser. När han greps bar han sin hemmagjorda rustning som såg ut som den på bilden. Melwin har här hjälmen på sig.

"Edward "Ned" Kelly, born sometime between June 1854 and June 1855, was an Irish-Australianbushranger, and was seen by some as merely a cold-blooded killer, while to others he was a folk hero for his defiance of the colonial authorities. As a youth he clashed with the Victoria Police, and after an incident at his home in 1878, police parties searched for him in the bush. He killed three policemen, and subsequently the colony proclaimed Kelly and his gang wanted outlaws. A final violent confrontation with police took place at Glenrowan on 28 June 1880. Kelly, dressed in a home-made plate metal armour and helmet, was captured and sent to gaol. He was hanged for murder at the Old Melbourne Gaol in November 1880. His notoriety affirmed him as a polarising iconic figure in Australian history, folk lore, literature, art and film. He was in cell number 113 at the Old Melbourne Gaol"

City Watch House var en intressant upplevelse. Man blev arresterad på "riktigt" av en bestämd dam. Jag fick heta Edith och var arresterad för stalking haha

City watch house är typ ett häkte och det var i bruk 1909-1994 

"The City Watch House was the place where felons were brought to face justice whether arrested in the streets of Melbourne for minor misdemeanors or being brought before the court for significant crimes. The watch House was built in 1909 and operated until 1994 and its original interior is complete in every respect"

Rickard blev nödig och lånade arrestens toa ;) 

Informationen är hämtad från Wikipedia och www.oldmelbournegaol.com.au

Rickard needed a toilet and borrowed this one from the Watch House ;)