Saturday, 26th November 2022

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Had a chilled morning as there was no rush to get on the road this morning, set off soon after 10am for our trip in to Melbourne. The roads were pretty busy as we neared the city but we avoided most of the main town and tolls by taking the ‘scenic’ route in.

Managed to park at the hotel and check in, although we couldn’t get the key straight away, so we decided to catch the tram in to town and have a look at the Old Gaol. It took us a while to fathom out how the tram worked but got our tickets, caught a tram just outside the hotel and got off a Central Station, the centre of Melbourne was heaving.

The Old Gaol was just a 5 minute stroll away so we headed off in that direction and found it fairly easily. We didn’t bother with a guided tour and just bought standard tickets, we spent a good bit of time just walking through the cells, reading all of the stories of the prisoners, conditions and executions, a fascinating tale including that of the Kelly family (Ned Kelly). It also highlighted for us how the Europeans came to Australia and just expected the indigenous people to abide by their rules and religions! I have to say, Melbourne in the late 1800’s doesn’t sound like a fun place to be.

Sue spotted that there was a city circular tram that was free so we thought we would use it to have a look around the city, having stood at the tram stop in the middle of the road for 40 minutes waiting for it we gave up and walked back to catch a tram back to the hotel and get our room sorted.

We have a nice view from the room of Albert Cricket Ground, there was a game going on when we arrived, and the city skyline.

We ventured downstairs to have dinner in the pub that is part of the hotel, well almost, it is in a tent like structure at the front, was nice though, good beer and good food. We were also joined by a couple of birds having a nose around. We have decided to have a chilled evening before heading out to explore Melbourne more tomorrow, unfortunately the trams aren’t running from our stop to the city but apparently there will be a relief bus service.

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Photos

1. Jail Cell
The cell doors were really small

1. Small Jail Cell
The cells weren't much bigger, in early days prisoners wore hoods and spent time in silence to break their spirit

3. The Mens Wing
The three floor mens wing, this housed men, women and children until the second wing was built

4. Kenworth Truck
Not many photos today so I threw in a Kenworth Truck

5. Hotel View
A match going on at the Albert Cricket Ground, from the hotel window

6. Pop Up Pub
The Hop Garden, the hotels pop up pub

7. Pub Visitor
A visitor to the pub