J Ward Ararat

J Ward opened as a goldfields prison 1859, then in the mid 1880's the site was  acquired by the Lunacy Department to house those men who were deemed criminally insane until it closed in 1991.  The building now houses a museum within the original prison building and is dedicated to recording and preserving the history of the criminals who were imprisoned there. We were not able to join one of the guided tours on our visit to Ararat but it is on the top of the list for our next visit.