Quite a number of visitors may be well aware of the prison’s history from the popular productions that include the Great South East and Getaway. The prison was named after the road that opened up the prison to the world. The prison stood out in Brisbane’s skyline thanks to its deep red brick walls and towering guard cell, making it a rather infamous location.
Initially, the prison was used as a holding cell but slowly morphed to a place where individuals deemed to have committed injustices were executed. The prison was completely shut down in 2002, after more than a century. It reopened to the public 10 years later, and is a prominent landmark in Brisbane.
In recent news, the facility has been closed to the public for renovation and is expected to open in 2016. These renovations are important since Boggo Road Gaol is one of the most underdeveloped tourist attractions in the country, yet its value to the city of Brisbane and Australia at large cannot be quantified.
For visitors who do not mind ‘dark tourism’, this former prison makes for a perfect place. The prison’s morbid aura best captures the trauma that prisoners then went through. There are two types of tours available at the Boggo Road Goal: historical tours and ghost tours.
Historical tours, just as the name suggests, creates opportunities for you to learn more from the prison’s past, taking a look at the kind of lives the inmates led. Ghost tours on the other hand, are for those visitors who do not get easily spooked out by the prison’s haunting past. These tours involve chilling tales from warders and inmates from as far back as the 1930’s when they went through experiences that words cannot quite capture.
Both tours are as insightful as they are enlightening, and both tours will take you back in time to the most infamous period at the prison. Owing to the nature of these tours, a visit to Boggo Road Goal may not be ideal for small kids. If you plan to tag the family along, however, a little foreknowledge will go a long way in making the whole family prepared for what to expect lest they become spooked out and are incapable of enjoying the tour.
To plan prior to your visit, you need to have the following details at hand:
Address: Annerley Road, Dutton Park QLD 4102, Brisbane, Queensland
Opening hours: closed to the public until 2016. Usually opened as follows:
Historical tours: 1100 hours to 1300 hours, Tuesday TO Saturday 0900 hours, 1000 hours, 1100 hours, 1200 hours and 1300 hours. Sunday 1300 hours
Ghost Tours: Wednesday and Sunday 1930 hours, Friday: 1900 and 2000 hours
Phone Number: (+61) 411 111 903
Ticket Prices: Historical Tours: Adult/ Family/ Child – $25/ $50/ $12.50
Ghost Tours: Adult/ Child (above 12 years) – $40/ $25
Distance from Brisbane CBD: 4 kilometers
