Sleep in a jail cell in this historic property for sale in country Australia

A century-old jail is for sale in a small town on the banks of the Murray River. 

Once the Blanchetown Police Station, this historic building dating back to 1850 has been converted into a one-of-a-kind home. 

$695,000 - $765,000

1-5 The Parade, Blanchetown SA 5357

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For 175 years, prisoners were locked up behind these thick sandstone walls. 

Today, the jail cell has been converted into a “cosy study space”. 

There is a narrow single bed where you can spend the night – as long as you’re willing to brave the ghosts of prisoners past. 

The property is just a stone’s throw away from the Murray River, which was the lifeblood of the community for many years. 

It’s on the market for $695,000 to $756,000 with Darren Pratt from Ray White Barossa. 

$355,000

19 Herbert St, Laura SA 5480

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The Blanchetown property is not the only jail for sale in Australia right now. 

In the tiny rural town of Laura, South Australia, an old police station is for sale along with two working cells. 

The jail is a late nineteenth-century red brick building located behind the main house. 

The two cells are exactly as they would have been 100 years ago, with bare whitewashed walls, wooden benches, and heavy metal doors. 

The house itself is a comfortable four-bedroom family home with high ceilings and original Victorian fireplaces. 

It’s listed for just $355,000 with Sarah Noonan from Wardle Co Real Estate. 

$3,500,000

36-48 Bowden Street, Castlemaine VIC 3450

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Meanwhile in Castlemaine, Victoria, you could buy a sprawling 80-cell former prison complex that is currently in use as a museum. 

The Old Castlemaine Gaol sits on 1.73 hectares of land and comes with four original watchtowers. 

David and Yuge Bromley, a renowned couple of Australian artists, transformed the jail into the gallery space it is today. 

Their goal was to see “something that housed sadness, despair, depravity, a loss of freedom, transformed into a space that was instead imbued with a sense of romance, whimsy and a breath of light and life.” 

The jail is for sale for $3.5 million with Kim McQueen from McQueen Real Estate.