Old Dubbo Gaol, Prison museum in Dubbo, Australia

Old Dubbo Gaol is a former prison and museum at 90 Macquarie Street in Dubbo. Its high perimeter wall is built of Dubbo red-brown bricks in English bond with piers and lime mortar, topped at the north-eastern corner by a watchtower with a wide-eaved corrugated iron roof. Inside, the male cell block has 12 ordinary cells plus two solitary confinement cells, a padded cell and a condemned cell; the female cell block has two cells, a bathroom and an exercise yard. Most buildings are sandstone with hipped corrugated iron roofs, while the entrance, watchtower and women's cell block are brick.

The first police residence and courthouse/lockup were built on this precinct in 1847–48, followed by a new courthouse and watch house in 1862–63. The present gaol began with a stone watch house in 1871, and major extensions in 1877–80 added the hospital and kitchen block, perimeter wall and two watchtowers. It closed as a gaol in 1966; after demolition plans were dropped, it reopened as a tourist attraction in 1974.

The gaol's survival is credited to local citizens and the Dubbo City Council, who in 1974 blocked a state plan to demolish it for a multi-storey office block. It is a rare surviving example of the "Hay" type of New South Wales gaol, and former inmates of European and Aboriginal descent and their relatives are recognised in its heritage listing.

The gaol stands at 90 Macquarie Street in Dubbo's central business district, a compact compound behind a high brick wall. The site closed in August 2016 for extensive restoration, so check current opening arrangements before travelling. Rising damp affects some buildings and the re-erected gallows are deteriorating, so some structures may be fenced off.

The gallows inside the compound were re-erected, and by 2010 they were recorded as being in poor, deteriorating condition. The site also preserves two solitary confinement cells, a padded cell and a condemned cell within the main male cell block, alongside a separate two-cell female block.