{"id":948379,"date":"2026-11-01T05:14:20","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T05:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/948379\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T05:14:20","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T05:14:20","slug":"gladstone-gaol-reopens-after-four-years-with-halloween-ghost-tours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/948379\/","title":{"rendered":"Gladstone Gaol reopens after four years, with Halloween ghost tours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following a period of closure, one of regional South Australia\u2019s historic landmarks has reopened its doors to the public, with new caretakers leaning into the site\u2019s dark heritage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year Lantern Ghost Tours licensed the Gladstone Gaol site from the Department of Environment and Water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This weekend, just in time for Halloween, the company opened the doors to the public for the first time, with sold-out ghost tours welcoming thrill-seekers and history enthusiasts alike to the now 145-year-old facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Naomi Bailey, the project coordinator for Gladstone Gaol, said it was exciting to have people back.<\/p>\n

“The community really wanted to be here as well, they were showing it through booking of the tours, and the takeaway was the interest. We sold out,” Ms Bailey said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Lantern Ghost Tours’ Naomi Bailey is the project coordinator for the recently reopened Gladstone Gaol. (ABC News: Clem Stanley)<\/p>\n

“We had to open additional tours, and we’ve got really strong bookings every Saturday night.”<\/p>\n

Local tourism asset<\/p>\n

Locals also shared Ms Bailey\u2019s excitement to have the Gladstone Gaol\u2019s gates open once again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Gladstone<\/p>\n

The Gladstone Gaol in 1929. (Supplied: State Library of South Australia)<\/p>\n

Gladstone Community Development and Tourism Association president David Catford said it was a surprise when the previous operators retired in 2022.<\/p>\n

“I think that the community has come to realise what it means not having it open,” Mr Catford said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I have described it as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Southern Flinders tourism area because really, it’s a unique site and it’s an important part of getting people to come here and be tourists and see and enjoy our region.”\"A<\/p>\n

Mr Catford said it was a surprise when the previous operators retired in 2022. (ABC News: Arj Ganesan)<\/p>\n

A once-off open day in 2025 was attended by some 1,300 people<\/a>, which Mr Catford said proved interest in the prison was still there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dark history to bright future<\/p>\n

Sitting on the cusp of the Southern Flinders Ranges and Mid-North regions, authorities in 1879 at the time determined that Gladstone would become home to a new prison, aimed at taking pressure off jails at Port Augusta and in Adelaide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The jail operated in its intended capacity for just shy of 100 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opening in 1881, its prisoner intake varied over the years, going from an all-gender prison to male-only, to a military prison during World War II, and later took on a focus more to reintegrate inmates back to society.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The jail has reopened to the public after a four-year closure. (ABC News: Arj Ganesan)<\/p>\n

By 1975 \u2013 and still not having plumbing in the building \u2013 the government of the day closed the facility.<\/p>\n

Gladstone local and tour guide Steve Schultz said the community acted quickly at the time to preserve the site and its history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s been a long battle ever since then to keep it open and at least have it accessible to the public basically,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the years since, the jail’s uses have varied, from previous ghost tour iterations, to hosting accommodation and events.<\/p>\n

Citing a downturn in volunteers after the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous caretakers hung up the keys in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spooky reopening<\/p>\n

Lindi and Shelley made the trip from Clare on Friday night, with the hope of experiencing something paranormal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both having fond memories of visits to the jail in its time as accommodation and an events venue, Lindi said its return to the community was “awesome”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I think this is fantastic,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Lindi and Shelley were glad to visit the tourist destination again. (ABC News: Arj Ganesan)<\/p>\n

Ms Bailey said the company planned to launch a caf\u00e9 on the site, and restoration works that would allow for events and visitors\u2019 further exploration of the site\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We really want to balance the heritage nature of the site and really complement it with events and activities that are coming through,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Anthony\"<\/p>\n

Anthony Van Zeventer was passing by en route to Darwin and was happy to see the site active again. (ABC News: Arj Ganesan)<\/p>\n

Among the visitors on Friday was Anthony Van Zeventer, who stopped by while travelling from Philip Island to Darwin, without realising it was opening night.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s great that the community’s got behind it and that they’re reopening it again,” Mr Van Zeventer said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following a period of closure, one of regional South Australia\u2019s historic landmarks has reopened its doors to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":948380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,516027,516023,516025,44,516024,516026,124977],"class_list":["post-948379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-gaol-reopens","tag-gladstone-gaol","tag-halloween-tours","tag-news","tag-regional-gaol","tag-regional-gaol-halloween","tag-regional-tourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}