From razor wire to roses: Melbourne’s Pentridge Prison

Inmates inside the controversial housing facility have included some of Australia’s notorious criminals – among them Ned Kelly and Chopper Read – and others who were startlingly ordinary, such as John Eastwood – who was imprisoned in 1886 for ‘being idle and disorderly’ – and Thomas Bowen – also imprisoned in 1886, for ‘stealing a pipe.’

Since its closure in 1997, the site has undergone a dramatic change; a towering apartment complex now stands not far from where a panopticon once stood, tongue-in-cheek real estate advertisements boasting to potential buyers ‘You hold the key.’ Within the complex, you can even find a small laneway named ‘Success Lane’,