Ray White’s Raphael Calik-Houston, dressed up as a prisoner, seen through the guard peephole of a former Pentridge Prison cell that’s for sale. Picture: David Caird.
Former Pentridge Prison cells are proving more popular today than when notorious criminals such as Mark ‘Chopper’ Read were locked up there.
A one-time cell in the gaol’s old D Division, where inmates were executed, has hit the market with an $85,000-plus price tag, while six others have also sold for a similar figure since January.
In comparison, records show just four changed hands in 2025.
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The cells have been converted to storage areas for wine and other valuables, with some owners even keeping rare Pokemon trading cards behind the bars.
Between 1851 and its 1997 closure, the Coburg prison housed criminals including standover man Read, bushranger Ned Kelly and 1920s gangster Squizzy Taylor.
In 1999, the Victorian government sold the prison to developers who have transformed it into a residential and retail precinct where ghost tour operators regularly show visitors around the grounds, which are thought to be haunted.
Cell-ing history: Ray White Coburg’s Raphael Calik-Houston within the former lock-up, measuring 2m by 3.1m, that’s on the market. Picture: David Caird.
Several prisoners were hanged in the prison’s D Division from the 1930s to the 1960s including serial killers Arnold Sodeman and Edward Leonski, and murderer Jean Lee, the last woman executed in Australia.
Infamous criminal Mark ‘Chopper’ Read spent time inside D Division. He also lead a group of prisoners known as the Overcoat Gang who were associated with a series of bashings at Pentridge.
Ray White’s Raphael Calik-Houston said the former cell that’s up for grabs is located at 4170/4 Wardens Walk in Pentridge’s D Division, originally constructed between 1887 and 1894.
It was later used as a holding block for high-risk inmates and as an execution site.
The last person to be executed in Victoria, convicted murderer Ronald Ryan, was hanged at D Division in 1967.
Nowadays, there’s about 200 ex-cells spread across the restored bluestone complex’s three levels.
Mr Calik-Houston said the third-level cell that’s on the market, sized at 2m by 3.1m, gave buyers a chance to own a slice of Australian history.
An ex-cell fitted out as a bespoke wine storage space at Pentridge.
The former cell at 4170/4 Wardens Walk, Coburg. Picture: David Caird.
In 1967, Ronald Ryan was hanged at Pentridge after being found guilty of shooting and killing warder George Hodson during an escape from the lockup two years earlier.
Since May, he has listed three other ex-cells which have fetched sums between about $75,000 to $81,000.
The agent and auctioneer has met people who use the lockup to store Pokemon cards worth tens of thousands of dollars.
“If you want a trendy place full of heritage to store your treasures. instead of storing them in your basement or in a cupboard where they collects a lot of dust, this is a bit of a quirky way to do so,” Mr Calik-Houston added.
“It would make a great man’s cave or lady’s cave.”
Visitors to the ex-prison have reported catching glimpses a ghost who looks like Mark ‘Chopper’ Read who has been seen smoking, leaning against walls and disappearing into a cell.
According to the National Trust, Pentridge was established in 1850 as a penal stockade. The prison was mostly built between 1858 and 1864.
The luxury set-up is a far cry from Pentridge’s early days when prisoners were identified by number and spent up to 23 hours a day locked in their cells.
Ownership of a former cell includes 24/7 access via a swipe entry and monitored CCTV throughout the building.
The spaces can also be fitted out as bespoke wine cellars where owners can host small gatherings, with access to larger shared function areas within the complex
While two of the other ex-Pentridge cells listed with Mr Calik-Houston this year sold off market, one was auctioned in May.
Mr Calik-Houston said it had been popular with buyers, with more than 100 queries coming through and about 50 people inspecting.
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