Brisbane: Self-Guided Audio Walk Through Crime and Justice

This self-guided audio walk explores Brisbane’s police, prison, and justice history. It will suit first-time visitors who enjoy local stories, hidden layers of the city, and the contrast between old institutions and the busy streets you see today.

Your route begins at the Site of Petrie Terrace Gaol, where one of early Brisbane’s key prison sites once stood on the ridge. From there, you follow a trail through former and current police locations, including Petrie Police Station, the Queensland Police Museum, the old Police Radio Section, the Police Watch House, and several Roma Street policing sites. Along the way, the city shifts around you from solid civic buildings to crowded streets, open squares, and narrow laneways.

The walk continues east toward Anzac Square and the former Police Court and Fire Station site, then threads through The Laneway and the old Criminal Investigation Branch location before finishing at the grand Treasury Hotel Brisbane. That final stop brings you to one of the city’s most striking historic buildings, with its carved stone, arcades, and stately facade.

The most memorable moments come from standing where a gaol once loomed, spotting museum displays tied to real cases, tracing the path of police communication and detective work, and ending among the sandstone grandeur of central Brisbane.