Doing Time At The HM Prison Beechworth

Definitely a gaol worth pursuing. The prison is a classic Australian design, all stone walls and solitary cells. The complex replaced a stockade in 1859 and stayed open until 2004. A long stretch.

Front entrance.

The exercise yard, pure blacktop. Ned Kelly mural. The famous bushranger outlaw was a prisoner at the gaol, as was his mother. A real family business of crime.

Main guard kiosk, at the meeting point of the two gaol wings.

Looking down one of the wings, iron staircase and rows of cell doors.

Daily movement board. Yes, labeled as gangs. How do you get in the Refuse to Work box?

Inside a cell. Hardcore stickers on the door and sparse furnishings. Understatement.

Back outside, the corner guard tower is replaced by technology.

The Beechworth Burke Museum

The Burke Museum is Beechworth's own mini version of the Smithsonian, a catch-all collection of the area's attics and history. Dolls, plates, gold rush history, old bottles, taxidermy, bring it.

Housed in an historic building.

One highlight is a Ye Olde Timey Street recreation, complete with a block of store fronts. Walk through history. The men's store, the old version of Zara.
The other specialty, stuffed birds.

Some of the unlucky examples.

Back at the street exhibit, a display of old drug store medicines. Foot rot, yech.

The Ned Kelly Vault In Beechworth

Ahh, Ned Kelly, the perfect outlaw rebel hero. Irish in descent, poor, scratching out a living, busted on suspect horse stealing charges, over bearing mother who may have killed a police constable with a shovel to the face, a flunkie brother and friends who were perfect for gang formation, and an epic shootout that included bizarre, homemade armor. No wonder Mick Jagger and Heath Ledger have taken turns playing him.

In Beechworth, they've turned the old gold storage treasury vault into a museum, shrine to Kelly. He didn't rob the place, the vault seemed to be a convenient building to house a bunch of artifacts.

The vault, nestled among a handful of Beechworth's historic buildings.

Faces of crime.  Murdering momma Ellen Kelly and Ned's death mask.

One of Ned's rifles.

Just a tiny example of the Ned Kelly true pulp media machine. Reward notice, about $1 million in 2020 US dollars.

Ahh, the gang's armor. Supposedly inspired by ancient Chinese armor, the suits were made from plow parts. While successful in repelling bullets, the armor was heavy - about 100 pounds and damage through spaces proved fatal to the gang. A for effort (and armor)!

The Old Beechworth Courthouse

The Beechworth courthouse lasted a long time - built 1858, retired 1989. The building's highlights would definitely be the proceedings involving the notorious outlaw Ned Kelly and his mother, Ellen.

The exterior, the classic stone look for a small town in Australia.

High and low areas of the courthouse. Judges chambers (they get to wear the Santa outfit) and the prisoner waiting room.

The courtroom.

Sobering shackle reminder and the law library.

A look at the leather-clad, colorful books in the library, judicial history on the shelves.

Around Old Beechworth

As gold rush era towns in Victoria, Australia go, Beechworth is one of the better preserved ones. Main street is quaint, historic municipal buildings have been saved, even the cemetery has a nice patina. Let's stroll the town.

One of the central, commercial streets, ripe for a Western movie.

Old architecture details. Elaborate iron work, a clock tower and fancy brickwork.

Houses just off the commercial core of Beechworth have been preserved, looking a little like a tiny New Orleans style Garden District.

On the town's edge is an old powder magazine. It was used for storing volatile gunpowder, needed in the nearby goldfields for blasting rock. Chinese burning towers in the cemetery. They were built in 1857 and are still used for the burning of paper offerings.

Back in town, the perfect set dressing of an antique auto in front of an old house.