H.M. Pentridge Prison was built in 1850 and closed down officially in May 1997. Its nickname in the prison environment was "The Bluestone College".
Today, the prison is partially demolished to build some new housings. Main façade remains, and some detention camps.
During the local gold rush, criminality rates increase and a new prison is needed.
Many blue stones to break around here, so the prisoners can be kept busy, and also start to build the road from Melbourne to Sydney.
Due to an increasing number of prisoners, Pentridge is modernized around 1870.Surrounding walls are built, guard towers are raised. The capacity reaches around 650 prisoners and 100 employees.
Little by little the conditions get better. A monthly visit is allowed in 1945, and a fortnight letter. Several production sites are created inside the prison during the 60's.
In 1970 more than 1000 prisoners are detained, with new cool rights like: reading, acting, studying.
All the executions happened inside the prison. The last man killed was Ronald Ryan, in 1967. He was hung after having killed a guard during a prison escape. As a doubt remained and he might have been innocent, executions stopped.
After 1984, lots of scandals happen: strikes, riots, drugs... The privatization of the prisons a few years later does not help.
Finally, in 1997, Pentridge definitely closed down.
October 2005, Melbourne. Escaping from Pentridge was supposed to be difficult. What about the infiltration, 10 years after the prison is abandoned?
The site was still having active motion detectors and cameras. Security doors, welded or heavily locked bars.
Climbing the ramparts, security nets, rooftops, the attic and, a couple of hours later, finally inside!
The most total darkness, creepy atmosphere. Everything remains intact, cells furniture still here, prisoner's graffitis too.
The photos gathered here are probably not the best ones on this site, but this exploration is certainly the most intense one...
My father was william cook age unknown would like any information as I never got to know him and feel like part of me is missing The only memmory I have of my father is visiting him in prisson when I was a verry little girl He had alot of tattoos a tear drop under one eye I will never forget he was of aborigonal decent Black hair slim built im told he was a talented artist ive tried endless ways of contacring him over the years But only knowing his name and what I have described it was impossible to trace him as my birth certificate states father Unknown . Then my search came to a screaming halt when I recived a phone call stating
My father had passed away when my son was almost two in shock I hung up the phone all I Could do is cry as I realized my worst fear id never get to know him . Please if there is any information about my father please let me know Kind regards lisa cook
I think your dad is the same ‘Billy’ my aunt dated in the 1990’s. I can still picture him, thin build, always had jeans on, dark scruffy longish hair and all his tattoos, especially will never forget that teardrop tatt. They lived together in Melbourne and last memory I have was that he had been sent to Pentridge prison and the relationship ended with my Aunt at that time also. I’ve always wondered about him. How his life turned out etc. I thought I’d do some digging tonight and see what I could find with the very very limited information I remembered about him and when I saw your comment as a search result, it’s the only result that had me thinking we are talking about the same ‘Billy’. I never knew his surname and my mum could never recall either.
i remember you too buddy good to see your still draging those knuckes behind you some thing dont ghange your stilla brain dead knuckle draging rock ape and if i wrer you i wouldnt be to proud of what put you there in the first place dont worry i wont bring you undun.but before you talk about other people you should get your fack strait like the fack that both my olds were dead so that kills that thearyand as far as being prould to have gone to jail yes i am proud .proud that i did four years living with sociotys thow backs and survivedwith out any problems thats what im proud off and then theres the building it self.what a plasce and except for some churches this was the last building of that typ left and it decerves the respect just because of what it was and how it was built but you probably didnt notice to busy chasing drugs or walking around with your head up your ass.myself i teamed up with the right people and we made the best of a bad situation and we all got through with smiles on fases.and to top things off i hated the place so bad i was only out two months and then back for three years so knuckles you havent got a clue but dont feel bad i cant drag my nuckels like you can so mabee if we ever get a circusfull of freeks youllfinaly get a job and you wont have to go back to jail.ha ha what joke that will never happen so i guess theres more boogoo in your future.have fun with that......fucking pesant hwo the fuck do you think you are look me up im not hiding come see me id love to set you straight face to face but deep down in side you know you dont have the ticker good luck with that boogoo
chopper read is a known liar and police informant real crims in real prisons do not like him one bit and he is consyantly.hiding and lagging to get away from them, so stop making out you knew some made up name in pentridge because chopper was in h division on 3man run outs with a rapisr for hes own protection have you ever.seen.chopper.in the 80s hes a whinging little wanker.he would get wrecked.but everyone in melbourne knows that and knows hes.just a.liar read mathew charles johnsons poems on facebook
I'm glad I came across this site it's great. I was one of the first residents at Pentridge estate and before the estate built up it was a ghost town. I found the estate to be calming in energy (regardless of what happened at the prison). A year after living there I felt a presence at our house upstairs, nothing harmful or scary. So I called a psychic friend and she told me there was a female who was a prisoner from the woman's section in the 1800's at the prison. She tried to get her to move on but this entity refused to. I guess she wanted to be where she was kept. I too believe pentridge should have been kept as you can never predict what developers will "accidentally" do as it was rumoured that a whole wall needed to be taken down. All I say is thank god for heritage laws.
i would like to see all the divisions retained and guided tours set in place for future generations to see what it was like i had many memories come back seeing this web site hi V Biorac
Would like to know where i can find information on past prisoners. My father was an inmate at Pentrige in 70's and 80's. Havent seen or heard from him in over 20 years. His name is Robert Charles Beck. But on the street probably went by numerous alias but im unsure of them. Also maybe if any past inmates remember him let me know
hi my farther was a inmate in late 1970 to early 1980s.im trying to find some info about him as he passed away in 2005 with a lit of un answerd questions.can any 1 help me plz.regards aleisha mitz
jojo Soz all...next time i decide to type a message out i will wear the specs so i dont stuff the spelling up and leave letters and spaces out...lol. Hope you all could understand my post anyway! Good luck to you all.
Hi team Pentridge, Regardless of the reasons for us being there...our minds have been emotionally scarred forever and only those who have "done time" and been witness to the horrid things that went on in there, can truly start to realise ow so much of those times was wrong and inhumane and just plain disgusting and should never be allowed to be repeated in the future. We have to try and live with the sadness of those times as best we can...everyone from inmates to the staff must still suffer from guilt to regretbut we like the bluestone are part of the history of HM Pentridge prison and I think the stories must be told and the buildings preserved and otmallowed to be lost to us all forver...regardless of our personal beliefs , we need to keep our Aussie history for our future generations. maybe we should all write a ook of memories from them"College of Knowledge" from the eyes of those who worked and resided there for a while!! Howdy Biorac, long time no hear!! Hope your ife is fantastic and happy. The things you find in the strangest places...like moi!! I hope your lives are happy and have turned outnnow how ou had hoped. Take care, stay safe...and plz stay free!!
Hi, i'm trying to find someone who may have known my dad Trevor Bradley. He spent many years in pentridge being in H div & jika jika. He broke out in the early 80's with 3 others. My dad has since passed but before he died he told me i have a half sister named chantelle who i am now trying to find but he kept this secret for 20yrs or more & for the life of me i cannot find her. I was hoping maybe someone reading this knew him & could help me please or to know anything about him would be good. we were very close over the years & i visited him every school holidays but obviously there had been secrets like my half sister
Hello this is my sister you are looking for have u found her
Hi kelly how are you
Kelly can you contact me on 0418487677
Regards
Trevor
Kelly it’s Trev here I haven’t heard from you for a long time and I wanted to see how you were going
It’s been a long time since Nan passed away and would like to chat again
Text me 0418487677
I didn’t know you had a half sister wow, how did you find that out
Trevor S
Hi Trevor. I am Kelly's half sister. How did you know my dad?
Hi Im trying to look for a prisoner called batton or barton. Was in jail for double murder around 168 and we were contacted around 1980's by the police as we had brought his mother's house and they said he escaped or something. I have look in wiki and nothing. If someone could contact me with any info elleyoop@msn.com I would appreciate it.
I'm am American, calif . I was sentenced to a year for possession of about 300 hits of LSD in nov 1970. I was 18'. I was held in j div. I was told that I was remanded to pentridge, because I was a foreigner. I was asigned to the store and delivered supplies with a push cart to all the divisions, including h div.. Being able to move about the prison gave me a position that I exploited for personal gain. I had many friends and never had a problem with staff or inmates. The blue stone was a learning experience for me. I became a very good chess player and won a considerable amount of money when I returned to California. I was not deported, but I had to leave the country on release. I have never applied for a visa and wonder if I could go back. I had a wonderful time in Australia, especially, kings cross and cairns. I was the king.
hi guys..Im from Melbourne i live about 10km away from pentridge prison..Just like to congrat you on your blue stone college adventure..Cheers boys
i loved this place. in barwon now and this place is a hole. it makes me sad, i want to be back in pentridge
hi i am just wondering if anyone an give me details on an ex prisoner named mick mitchell...... he was inside in the 1980's and from what i am aware of shared this time with with mark read and bill o'meally. mick was a friend of my parents and any info would be great... pls email me at holden_gurlie@hotmail.com would really like to get in touch with him if he is still around. cheers
As a female prisoner on remand I found Pentridge just as it should be, a great deterrent. I was treated ok and found that the older girls did indeed seem at home and ran things pretty much. Finding out that it is all being developed did sicken me, old prejudice I suppose. It does seem a waste to let it stand there empty or pull it down? The photos made me feel sick, and I for 1 would never want to be inside there again. There were lice in my cell from the pidgeons nesting on the window ledge. The only other place to go was the observation cell, no thanks. I feel sorry for the guys/girls who spent too much time there, but if not there somewhere else hey? I learned my lessons the hard way, but it wasn't too hard to know I didn't want to go back in there. That was back in 82. Here's to moving on, if Pentridge can do it we all can. Thanks for the "as it is today" comments, fantastic.
Hi does anyone have any info on a prisoner Gary Rampling ,he was there during the 80,s and early 90,s.please email Ken at email.. holdenmonaro101@hotmail.com. thanks heaps.
Hey there, this place looks cool - does anyone know how to get in?? cheers
I'm interested to no of they still do tour or no anyone that can get us in for a look inside?
Omg those doors don't remember the brown ones, didn't have them in b annex. Just the heavy black ones - thick, cold, final. Cannot believe anyone would willingly want to live there
My dad died in that prison. They use to drug him up on dilactol because he use to stand up for himself and try stop 5 screws from beating him when they had nothing better to do. He died on the 30th March 1987, not long before he was due for release. He was left laying on his dirty cell floor for two days. He's autopsy was carried out on the 15th October 1987, 6 months after we burried him. Rigamortis had set in by the time he was laid to rest and he's autopsy report reads "cerebral neoplasm secondary to epileptic seizure". Funny, he was on dilactol which is a very strong sedative, difficult to fit on and he had a fractured skull, black eye and missing teeth. Coroner must have missed all that. I'd like to see what the men who actually lived through this hell have to say about the inhumane treatment they recieved and like my dad always said "products of society" I'd also like to meet the screws who are far more heartless and evil then any prisoner that ever served time there. People should not live where other were brutally attacked physically and mentally.
most of the screws were worse than the crims gutless mongrels bashings in packs most were weak poms with no heart
They still are. Corrections Victoria is being run by ex-screws like Rod Wise and his protégé Nick Selisky (Barwons acting general manager at the time of Williams death). He was hidden by CC at a private prison for a few years before making it back big time. He will be the next deputy commissioner. He wise and other ex-Pentridge screws are corrupt and vile. Pentridge may be gone, but CV and screws remain corrupt vermin. ***** travels down from the top.
oh, and brad, the only reason u got shipped around so much is that u asked to be put into protective custody and u we're a petty thief. U never ever did serious time. In the grand scheme of things, ur a pimple on a pumpkin who really has nothing to brag about. Why anyone would think being in jail is something to brag about anyway is beyond me.
look out dazza of brissy, the original bad arse brad bonica had said ur full of shit! Big words coming from a woman bashing drug addict who cried ever time he was sentenced and pleaded with mummy and daddy to get him out, cause he was too scared the big bad men might get him! Yep brad ur well known, not for being a big time crook, but a big time sook who couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag! Ur a douche!
Pats what a load of rubbish bags of bones, dogs not entering D Div and bodies forgotten in cells what are you a fiction writer ?
They found the skeletal remains of a few deceased adults and a child from the underground cells and one underground tunnel.
Well you are wrong. A security guard working for the company employed to oversee Pentridge, was a former SESG officer. He trained his dogs using SESG code..Blue...Green for an uproar. He pranked his fellow employees by opening the H division exit door and commanding the dogs to react. It caused a stir and is now an urban Legend. So PSMO, you are very wrong.
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Pentridge as it currently stands: D division has been converted into a wine cellar, B and E division stand derelict and thankfully heritage protected. The end triangular section at the end of D Division is to be made into a memorial garden. However, Ned Kelly's grave along with 33 others was located on the left hand side of D division. This grave was found after a construction worker on the site was killed on the exact same spot as the mass grave. Heavy machinery which fell on top of the deceased worker was dug out and the remains were found. Ironically, the surname of the deceased worker was Kelly. There is now an apartment block being built over the grave site. F Division is being renovated into office blocks and in the basement of F Division remains of a 10 year old boy were located in a cell, forgotten for over a 100 years. Also bags of human bones were located in F division. No-one knows the identity of these remains and when or how they perished. H Division still stands in its glory. Occasionally, the rear entrance will be left unlocked. One side of H Division is available for public inspection. You can see the metal traps at the bottom where meals were served. The industry section has been converted into apartments. The nurses accommodation has been converted into a reception centre. The metro reception area has been turned into a restaurant/cafe. Most of the buildings near the front gate lay derelict and waiting for impending (shameful) redevelopment. I am a Forensic Pathologist and have had a long history associating with the deeds of those who were sent to Pentridge, along with the deeds of those committed whilst they were in Pentridge. I must not forget the copious amounts of suicides which occurred within those walls. Pentridge is a model of the English penal system of segregation. It should be preserved as part of Melbourne's cultural (if not dark) heritage. As for those 'psychic' amongst us: Pentridge is a peaceful place and it does not emit any eerie vibes. I admit a couple of Rottweilers refused to enter H Division but I have never experienced anything creepy or 'spiritual' there. I think people imagine these things.
interested in all the posts....some took me back a long long ways...to 1981 as a screw in the metro jail, D, F division, jika and G division there until just after the jika riots...could never express the impact of working life in the jail was for me...entrenched in my soul...im shattered it has been closed down...
sorry dazza-brizzy but i think your full of shit you might have done 2 years but theres no way you spent two years in one cell not in d division the box writer would never let it happen i spent 86 87 88 on remand and im here to tell you that i had at least 15 diferent cells its just the way the place worked every time you went to court you would loose your cell and cellmate from there you would apply for a cell change to get back with your mate they didnt care where they put you you sound like you know alotabout nothing why dont you talk about some of the things that happened there like when i stood in activities and watched some of my freinds die in the jika fire of 87 or mabee when paul kremmen climbed up on the roof in88 and kicked in all the windows in the dome on the roof or mabee the time king richared and johny parlmer were going to run in to 2 yard and take on all 90 crooks why because they were mad the jails not scary it was the crooks that lived there thats wwhat made pentridge .i just got out again this time from mrc and all the old crooks still say send us back to pentridge it was our home away from home and i miss it
The photos do bring back memories especally cell 67 as that was the 4 outer that was in fact the death cell it had the wall knocked down between it and 67a as the door was never to be opened again this I know after spending nearly 2 yrs on remand 94-96 in cell 68 located in d division in fact have spent time in E div when they were 20 bed dorms b div when it was B transit for morwell wron wron etc last year on the way back from adelaide to bris stopped in and managed to get around E div to the old visit area between E and the main gate I remember D div had a series of yards shaped like a wedge they were 1 yard remand 2 yard sentanced 3 yard which was for 23 hour lock ups and then 4/5 yard which was for rock spiders I think they did something smart like make pegs then there was f yard that used to be the old f dorms 60 beds per dorm years ago I was surprised that you took a picture of 67 door but didnt take a pic of the old hanging trap behind you as it was only 6 steps from the door to the centre of the trap, D div nice place to look at in the last moments of your life if you look on google earth behind D you will see a small triangle area on the north/east corner that is where they buried you they took you from the rope through the D hospital and into the ground funny I remember standing on the muster line in D and directly under the trap was a drain grate built into the floor ah the memories
Having read as many books I could find on the place, I was lucky to finally tour Pentridge just after it closed down. I am a psychic and I can tell you that I have never felt such bad energy in all my life. It took me about 2 weeks to finally get the feeling of that place off me. The worst energy was in the psych unit, in particular Julian Knights cell. I struggled to even enter that building, and i felt suffocated by the evil and dark energy in there. Jika Jika also had a very bad effect on me as a psychic. The feeling was of despair, desperation and anger. I was frightened in there and refused to enter a few of the cells. I am so glad I got to tour the prison before it was knocked down. I had been facinated by it for years, but to actually go inside and experience the "vibe" has made me realise what a hellhole that place was. I dont know how anyone can live on that site, as a psychic, i would NEVER build a house on that ground.
I live on the site and it is bloody peaceful. People call themselves psychics but I think it should be psychotics. The action was when the jail was in operation. Yes, there was a few suicides a week, but once the cells were investigated they housed a new prisoner. I worked so many night shifts, I never had a creepy feeling ever. Julian Knight cell haunted? Even now, where Julian resides, is no threat. He is locked up for good. The day he was denied parole, a police chopper flew over his residence. I was at a gate and Julian never looked up. He is OCD and does not cause prison issues. You can upset him, by messing up his cell in a cell search. But, what's the point? He will never threaten a person again. He is very well behaved. So, I think that you were unsettled because when you saw his old cell, you knew of his crime. Plus, it is an old bluestone historical building. There are many other cells which were suicides or murders have taken place. Go figure!
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