Ararat, Vic

Day 4 Monday 22/12/2025 Ararat, sunny 8 – 19

Woody went off for a haircut this morning, come to think of it, we’re both looking a bit shaggy.

Lunch done and dusted, we make our way over to J Ward Prison for a tour. As the fledgling town of Ararat grew with the gold rush, so did the rate of crime. A solid bluestone prison was the answer with walls buried as deep into the ground as they are above.

In later years when the prison was no longer in use it was converted into a hospital for the criminally insane. Thus, becoming an additional ward of the nearby Aradale Asylum. The wards at Aradale were named alphabetically A through I, thus the old prison became J Ward.

Our guide provides an absolute wealth of information from horror stories that make your skin crawl to good yarns. We see the Governor’s residence and the warder’s residences that now house caretakers. All overlooking green lawns and rose gardens. They’re easing us into this gently. A 1930’s cell block is almost comfortable having been improved by a later Governor with modern treatment ideas. The windows have wooden internal shutters to cover the glass at night.

Moving on to the cold old 2 storey bluestone cell block. Where inmates were stripped naked at night to prevent ‘trouble’. Their only comfort a weighted canvas blanket.

Note the worn footmarks at the cell door

We hear of misdiagnosis and illnesses that can be easily treated with medication these days. And of the 3 executions that took place here in the jail years with the bodies buried in the exercise yard and denoted by broad arrows cut into the stone. We learn of the world’s oldest prisoner who died aged 107 and of the world’s longest incarcerated prisoner, 71 years. We visit the underground kitchens, the mortuary, the museum and watch an old TV documentary interviewing some of the prisoners that we’d just learnt about, which hammered home to us the fact that yes, this is real. J Ward closed in 1991 when it no longer met international health standards.

The broad arrow denotes that even in death they remain the property of the prison.

The tour takes about 2 hours and we almost fall out the front door feeling appreciative of our freedom and glad to leave the smell of incarceration behind.

Back at camp we sit outside until it gets cold. Dinner is a nice steak, butter beans, broccoli and mash.

Accom: $38.00