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Winter activities
Maitland Gaol will be offering the following activities during the Winter School Holidays in 2019
There are three self guided audio tours available seven days a week, each providing a different perspective of life behind bars.
Maitland Gaol Revealed - will give you an in depth understanding of how prisoners slept, ate, exercised and wiled away the many thousands of hours until their release. You will explore each section of the site, revealing secrets straight from the mouths of those who knew it best, the ex-inmates and ex-warders.
Escaping Maitland Gaol - will lead you through the maze of cells, divulging intricate details of the many escape attempts seen throughout the gaol’s 150 year history. You will hear stories of ballsy efforts to break free of the gaol’s grueling regime that almost always ended up with the crims back serving an even longer sentence.
Snitch's Gaol Exploration - designed specifically for children the ghostly character ‘Snitch the Rat’ leads them on an adventure through the gaol cells. Snitch tells the children all the secrets of the gaol that he witnessed as the many criminals were brought in from the outside world. This tour is perfect for primary school aged children as it offers a fun and fascinating experience that is full of facts and stories that will entertain and educate.
Download the app to your own device for a discounted entry, simply search Maitland Gaol in the App Store or Play Store.
To get prisoners behind bars, you first have to be able to catch them and then process them. Fingerprinting makes up an important part of both processes. Junior sleuths will take a mini tour of the site before learning how to dust for fingerprints. Children will learn when fingerprinting was introduced and what Gaols had to do with fingerprinting. Once they've caught the perp, we'll process their fingers as a special souvenir to take home.
Dates: Tuesday 9 and 16 July
Time: 11.00am
Price: Child - $10, Adult - $5
Bookings Essential, suitable for children aged 5 - 15 years.
Enjoy part two of our Workhouse Woes series these school holidays! Ever wondered what prisoners get up to behind bars? Then come along to Workhouse Woes - Butter Making to learn all about one of the jobs undertaken by prisoners in the earliest days of the Gaol's history. Children will undertake a mini tour of the site before getting the chance to get hands on and make their very own butter. Having to use all their muscles to make the butter means they are probably going to be a little hungry. Well not only will they make it, but they'll get to taste it.
Dates: Thursday 11 and 18 July 2019
Time: 11.00am
Price: Child - $10, Adult - $5
Bookings Essential, suitable for children aged between 5 - 15 years.
Not suitable for vegans or gluten intolerant.
These are a 1½ hour escorted tour through the Maitland Gaol complex from the perspective of the men and women responsible for operating the facility over its 150 years.
This tour is not for the feint-hearted. Stories of famous and infamous characters from yesterday and yesteryear. Your guide will provide you with information on the history of this maximum security facility and what it was like to look after some of the "worst of the worst". Be prepared for some harrowing tales.
This is an excellent tour for older kids and is not recommended for children under the age of 14. The information presented may be confronting includes adult themes, coarse language and drug and sexual references.
Dates: 6, 10 and 17 July
Time: 11.00am
Price: $23 per person (Adults at children's prices)
Bookings Essential, suitable for children aged over 14 years.
While learning about the history and operation of this notorious prison, this specially designed tour explores the various stories behind some of the documented escapes from Australia’s longest continuously operating correctional facility.
During your 1½ hour tour our guides will escort you around the site, delving into the ways prisoners were treated through various eras of prison management, and how the Gaol was developed through its 150 year operational history.
And throughout your exploration, stories of amazing escapes, from the unbelievable and amazing to the farcical. All, in most cases, for a few hours of freedom. Learn about the 'Magnificent Seven' – the last successful escape in September 1977, and Patrick McNamara, who escaped in August 1851, only to be recaptured 4 months later and face the hangman’s noose in March 1852.
Dates: 7, 12, 13, 19 and 21 July
Time: 11.00am
Price: $23 per person (adults at children's prices)
Bookings Essential, suitable for all ages.
Immerse yourself in the history of Maitland Gaol on this 1½ tour, discovering stories of all sorts of heroes and villains.
Our expert guides are regularly undertaking and updating research to give you the most informed tour of this 150-year-old institution. Delve into all parts of the site and learn of the changes that have occurred in prisoner treatment throughout the life of this oldest continuously operating correctional facility in Australia.
From the English Pentonville Model of the original cell blocks to the modern Maximum Security 5 Wing and the many ancillary buildings scattered throughout the site.
This tour is occasionally presented as a public evening Torchlight Tour but is mainly presented for private groups where it may be adapted to highlight particular aspects of the facility at the request of the group organisers. It is suitable for children.
Dates: 8, 14, 15 and 20 July.
Time: 11.00am
Price: $23 per person (adults at children's prices)
Bookings Essential, suitable for all ages.
Additional tours and information will be released closer to the date, please check back for more information or contact Maitland Gaol on 02 4936 6482.
PLEASE NOTE: Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult or concession. Child tickets can not be purchased without adult or concession ticket for online sales, call Maitland Gaol on (02) 4936 6482 for more information.