Pentridge Prison Tours

As part of his Father’s Day gift, I treated my dad to a National Trust Tour of H Block — Dad is a history buff and had never before visited Pentridge. The guide for our tour was friendly and knowledgeable, having grown up in the area. A very small group of us started at 2:30pm — I expect they get bigger groups for their night tours. After showing us around Pentridge and explaining the history of the main parts of the prison, we went into H Block. Here, we were given headsets to self-guide. Each cell had a different story, including recordings made by people who actually attended H Block as prisoners, guards, chaplains or lawyers. It was fascinating as well as horrifying. We learned it had been kept secret from the public that some of the most egregious physical and mental torture still occurred there as late as the 1990s. Dad also enjoyed the Pentridge history gallery near Palace Cinema, which provides an overview of the history of the prison. This is available all the time for free, without a tour. It was very convenient to park in the shopping centre, which is free for several hours. Champ Street is a little closer to the start of the tours, but there are limited spots as they are often used by tradies working nearby.