The Old Dubbo Gaol was a courthouse lockup in 1847, was proclaimed an official Gaol in 1859 and closed operations as a penal institution in 1966. Officially re-opened as a tourist attraction in 1974, the Old Dubbo Gaol is now fully restored and is home to a large display of animatronic models and holographic displays which provide a realistic and fascinating insight into a bygone era of barbaric prison life.
Wandering around this unique collection of 19th century buildings and artefacts, learning the stories of prison life, and spending a moment in the pitch black of the solitary confinement cell, will be certain to send a chill up your spine.
DID YOU KNOW?
That there are at least 3 bodies buried in the grounds of Old Dubbo Gaol! Two men who were hanged in Old Dubbo Gaol, Thomas Newman (1877) and Albert (1880), were unceremoniously laid to rest in unmarked graves after their execution. The last, Mary-Ann Wilson (1885) who was not a prisoner but was ill and being treated in the Gaol Hosptial, passed away from natural casues and was also buried in the grounds. The locations of their graves in the Old Dubbo Gaol are unknown.


