Facilities
The Adelaide Gaol today is essentially the same as when it closed in 1988.
The visitor centre includes a museum which houses an interesting array of artefacts dating back to the Gaol’s early years. Exhibits also include a range of crudely fashioned instruments designed with escape or malice in mind which were confiscated by guards over the years as well as a look into prisoners’ day to day lives, of which they spent over two thirds of every days locked in their cells.
Most of the complex is open to visitors who are welcome to take a tour of the Gaol and inspect the cellblocks, condemned cells, surgery, induction centre, through into exercise yards, the hanging tower and graves area.
Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society
The Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society ensures that this significant heritage site remains an accessible aspect of Adelaide’s early history.
Donations towards the preservation of the Adelaide Gaol are welcome. Monies are used to enhance the visitor experience and for the preservation and conservation of the Gaol and its facilities. To make a donation or discuss sponsorship please contact the Gaol.
The Society is a volunteer organisation that provides day to day operation of the Gaol. Volunteers organise tours, share the Gaol history and workings with the public and help preserve the buildings.
Assistance is provided by volunteers in a number of areas including welcoming visitors, working as guides, shop attendants, cleaning, administration assistants, researchers, maintenance and groundspersons.
Our volunteers come from all walks of life. If you have an interest in assisting and preserving the Adelaide Gaol and would like to become a volunteer please contact the Gaol for further information or fill out our application form and return it to:
Adelaide Gaol
18 Gaol Road
Thebarton, South Australia, 5031Phone (08) 8231 4062 or fax (08) 8231 8975
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why is it Gaol and not Jail?
the spelling 'gaol' was in common usage when the Gaol was built in 1841, and consequently applied to Adelaide Gaol.- How many people have been hanged in South Australia?
66, comprising 16 in country areas, 50 in Adelaide including 45 at Adelaide Gaol.- Who was the last person hanged in South Australia?
Glen Sabre Valance on 24 November 1964.- What was the greatest number of prisoners held at one time?
440, during the 1960s when prisoners were housed with up to three per cell.- What was the average sentence for a prisoner?
between one to three months, many of these were for public drunkenness.- What was the average age of prisoners?
prior to the 1960s the average age was approximately 22 years. During the 1970s this dropped to between 18 and 20 years of age.- What age was the oldest person to be imprisoned?
a 91 year old who was reputedly sentenced for vagrancy.- How long were prisoners kept at the Adelaide Gaol?
generally only short term prisoners were held at Adelaide Gaol, however if they had a trade such as boiler attendant or cook they often served their sentence for some years at Adelaide.- What sort of punishments were applied in the Gaol?
besides hanging, sentences could include whipping with a cat-o-nine tails for adults, or birching or caning for those under 18 years of age. Prisoners were expected to work in the gardens, kitchens or laundry. Sentences of hard labour could include breaking rocks, burying night soil or collecting and processing olives. Women could be given tasks including needlework, cooking or picking oakum [unravelling ropes].
Adelaide Gaol
18 Gaol Road
Thebarton, South Australia, 5031Phone (08) 8231 4062 or fax (08) 8231 8975
