 In 1957 , the National Trust of Australia listed the Old Melbourne Gaol on its heritage register , and a year later marked it as a site that needed to be preserved at all costs . Furthermore , in 1965 , the Melbourne Junior Chamber of Commerce floated the idea of converting it into a museum , for the purposes of tourism . In 1972 , the gaol was reopened as a public museum , under the management of the National Trust of Australia ( Victoria ) . 
