The gaol was built by prisoners who slept on high security barges on Corio Bay during construction.

The Australian Army used the prison as a detention barracks during, and for a few years after, World War II.

A gallows exhibit recreates the 1863 hanging of James Murphy, who battered Constable Daniel O'Boyle to death at the Warrnambool court house.

Cell 47 is of special interest as it contains a mural painted on a wall by a prisoner, titled Window of Freedom.

In 2015, the prison also served as a location for Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race.