The 'Secret' Tunnels of Geelong
Among the legends and conspiracies surrounding Geelong’s underground network, there is plenty of truth. The rumours of these tunnels hosting grog shops, being refuges, to bring cargo from the ships to the centre of cbd, to transport patients between hospitals and of underground connections from the Old Geelong Gaol to the then-Supreme Court and out to the pier might all have a hint of truth…
There was believed to have been a tunnel connecting the Old Geelong gaol with the Supreme Court building just to the west on Myers St, the tunnel allowed the transport of prisoners with out attracting the crowds. There was an excavation and report done about 15 years ago whereby they found a 3 m deep hall that connected the Gaol and the Courthouse. This was most likely used to transport prisoners rather than allow a spectacle by transporting them on Myers street. This type of tunnel is actually quite common for prison systems. What is “cool” about this and why some might consider it “secret” is that on the original plan drawings of the Gaol and Courthouse this hall was not included in the plans. This was most likely because it was a late but practical addition.
Image from – http://twistedhistory.net.au/ghost-tours.html
Of course one tunnel isn’t a secret at all, the tunnel between the hospitals. It is still used to transport patients every single day to and from both hospitals.
Even some of our most famous schools are rumoured to have tunnels… Geelong College’s ‘student legend’ claims that there are hidden tunnels that lead from beneath Room ‘A’ and the ‘dungeon’ room on the northern side of the wing to the Boarding Houses. And of course the one that starts at St Joseph’s College that ‘apparently’ leads to Sacred Heart College….
Image from : The Geelong College heritage sight – gnet.geelongcollege.vic.edu.au:8080/wiki/MACKIE-TUNNEL.ashx
The purpose of other subterranean places is not nearly as glamorous as rumours suggest. For example, there is a storm water drain that was built in 1853 that used to extend from Pakington street that then flows out to sea near Cunningham pier. This is 5 foot wide and 6 foot tunnel tall is also the drain that floods in Johnstone Park when Geelong had the flash floods.
There is a system of canals and waterways all over, or should we say ‘all under’ Geelong, these canals were used to bring cargo from the ships to the centre of the CBD, over the last 2 yrs during the construction of the new TAC building which is no more than 200 mtrs from the waterfront, construction workers actually drilled into one of the canals.
Under the old Terminus Hotel there is a tunnel that went from the bottom room to Cunningham Pier. Terminus used to be the woman’s convict prison and aspects of the building such as shackles attached to the wall are protected by the National Trust of Victoria. This tunnel is now closed off and unable to be entered.
There have of course been daredevil drain dwellers, aka ‘Cave Clans’, and some still access areas across the city, including at Cunningham Pier and Geelong’s former cement works. But this extremely dangerous hobby is condemned, the Geelong City Council urge people to keep out for their own (and those that would have to rescue them) safety. Most of the ‘tunnels’ are actually drains which are designed to flood, some have been filled in or have collapsed at various stages in their history. They are highly unsafe and bare no resemblance to tours done overseas like Paris or London, these have been made safe before a single person enters them.
Image from: Cave Clan and urban explorers told to quit exploring in Geelong’s underground tunnels – Geelong Advertiser – first published April 21, 2016 by
ALEX WHITE and ELIZA SUM Picture: Jason Edwards
There used to be tours of the Geelong Tunnels but with insurance issues and risks of cave ins etc these are a thing of the past. Unless some one was willing to invest in making them safe like they have done in Europe such tours will never get off the ground, although they would be brilliant and a great tourist attraction.
A few other rumoured tunnels that we can find no evidence of the tunnel that leads from Easter Beach up through to the Botanical Gardens, the Max and Bush Inn to the pier, an old tunnel on Mercer St, which was part of the railway line that ran down to the shore of Corio Bay, a tunnel that leads from Corio to Lara that goes down 100’s of metres and of course the tunnel that runs between the Max and Bush Inn to Cunningham Pier.
