Looming over Coburg like a forbidding castle, Pentridge Prison still stands as Melbourne’s monument to miscreants, mischief-makers and murderers. Built in 1851 to ease overcrowding at the Melbourne Gaol, Pentridge used the quarry next door to supply both punishment and materials, forcing inmates to excavate the bluestone that would expand the very prison they were locked in.
By 1924, Pentridge had become Melbourne’s main prison. When the Old Melbourne Gaol closed and was partially demolished, the remains of executed prisoners were dug up and reburied within Pentridge’s walls, including those believed to be Ned Kelly’s. His remains were finally identified through DNA testing and returned to his family in 2013.
For nearly 150 years, Pentridge was a city within a city: a place of despair, industry, art and the occasional riot. It closed its prison gates in 1997, and today those same bluestone walls surround a very different community of townhouses, restaurants, a cinema, shopping and even a boutique hotel.
This Suburban Icons print celebrates Pentridge as one of Melbourne’s most intriguing landmarks, capturing the imposing bluestone walls and a place where some of the city’s darkest history has been transformed into something entirely different.
If you want to keep a piece of that history without the risk of being locked in overnight, grab a Pentridge Suburban Icons print.
Looming over Coburg like a forbidding castle, Pentridge Prison still stands as Melbourne’s monument to miscreants, mischief-makers and murderers. Built in 1851 to ease overcrowding at the Melbourne Gaol, Pentridge used the quarry next door to supply both punishment and materials, forcing inmates to excavate the bluestone that would expand the very prison they were locked in.
By 1924, Pentridge had become Melbourne’s main prison. When the Old Melbourne Gaol closed and was partially demolished, the remains of executed prisoners were dug up and reburied within Pentridge’s walls, including those believed to be Ned Kelly’s. His remains were finally identified through DNA testing and returned to his family in 2013.
For nearly 150 years, Pentridge was a city within a city: a place of despair, industry, art and the occasional riot. It closed its prison gates in 1997, and today those same bluestone walls surround a very different community of townhouses, restaurants, a cinema, shopping and even a boutique hotel.
This Suburban Icons print celebrates Pentridge as one of Melbourne’s most intriguing landmarks, capturing the imposing bluestone walls and a place where some of the city’s darkest history has been transformed into something entirely different.
If you want to keep a piece of that history without the risk of being locked in overnight, grab a Pentridge Suburban Icons print.
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