Victoria's oldest surviving prison offers a chilling insight into prison life.

In 1841, after six years of European settlement in the Port Phillip district, general lawlessness necessitated the construction of a permanent gaol. An allotment of scrub to the northeast of town was selected as the site.

The Melbourne Gaol was designed to accommodate short term prisoners, those on remand, those accused of minor offences such as drunkenness, lunacy, vagrancy or bankruptcy, and those awaiting execution.

When gold was discovered in Victoria in 1851 there was an influx of immigrants from Europe, China and America. This drastically altered Victoria's social composition and authorities struggled to maintain law and order.