About Adelaide Gaol
Adelaide Gaol is a former colonial prison located at 18 Gaol Road, Thebarton, on the Adelaide Park Lands fringe in South Australia. Built in 1841 and operating until 1988, it is one of Australia's oldest surviving gaol buildings. Now preserved as a museum and heritage site, it displays original cells, exercise yards, and gallows, offering insight into South Australia's penal history and colonial development.
Visitors guide
Visitors can explore a preserved 19th-century prison complex set on the edge of the Adelaide Park Lands near the River Torrens. The site includes original limestone cell blocks, exercise yards, solitary confinement cells, the gallows tower, and displays of prisoner artefacts and records. Self-guided and guided tours lead through cell wings, the hospital and kitchen areas, with interpretive panels explaining daily prison life from 1841 to 1988.
Key highlights
- 01
One of Australia's oldest surviving colonial gaol buildings, operating from 1841 to 1988
- 02
Original cell blocks, exercise yards and gallows tower preserved for viewing
- 03
Museum displays of prisoner records, artefacts and execution history including 45 executions on site
- 04
Guided history tours and after-dark ghost tours
- 05
Heritage-listed limestone architecture on the Adelaide Park Lands