Year 9 Old Melbourne Gaol Excursion

On Friday the 28th of April, Meadow Fair’s year 9 humanities classes visited the Old Melbourne Gaol as part of our study into colonial Australian history and Ned Kelly. We visited a court room and re-enacted the Ned Kelly trial with many students playing key members in the court room. We visited the prison where Ned Kelly was executed seeing many prison artefacts from the colonial era on display in the goal, and a few lucky students even got to try on a replica of Ned Kelly’s armour.

Mohamed Ali 9B wearing Ned Kelly's armour

Finally we visited the old Melbourne watch house where the police used to keep prisoners awaiting trial up until the 1990’s. The students were treated to a sample of crime and justice by being locked up in a prison cell, seeing the horrible conditions of a prison and receiving a sample of how prisoners may be treated by the police sergeant on duty. After our thankfully short stay in prison, the year 9 boys made their escape on the bus back to school to reflect on prison life and life in the 1800s for settlers in the colony of Victoria.