Designed in the Georgian Renaissance architectural style by John Lee Archer, what remains of the gaol is now managed by the National Trust of Australia (Tasmania) as a historic site.

The original portion of the gaol, at first known as the Hobart Town Prisoner's Barracks, was built by convicts in 1821[1] and accommodated 640 men.

As thousands of convicts were arriving each year, the barracks was found to be too small almost immediately, and it was extended in stages over the next decade until it could hold over 1,200 men, by using every inch of available space, including the ceiling cavity.

These older buildings in Campbell Street remained standing and were given over to the care of the National Trust, and they are open to the public.

[3] In the first half of the 20th century, Campbell Street Gaol was the subject of six separate inquiries, all concluding it desperately needed to be modernised and conditions upgraded.

Work carried out in 1916 included improvements to the drainage by connection of the gaol (but not the cells) to the sewerage system and the conversion of lighting from gas to electricity.

Part of the consideration was to remove the gaol to the country "but not more distant than 30 miles" and that it should be suitable for farming by the less dangerous prisoners, which would also render the system self-sufficient in meat, vegetables, dairy produce and fuel.

[1] Following a Royal Commission in 1943, resulting from a series of escapes from Campbell Street Gaol, a property was finally obtained by compulsory acquisition in 1949.

The area of 90 acres (36 ha) acquired was on the eastern side of the Derwent River, not far from Risdon Cove where the initial European settlement of Tasmania occurred.