From crumbling homesteads to forgotten hotels, Australia has abandoned buildings strewn from coast to coast. Here we peer through glassless windows and wander through mouldering halls to bring you a virtual tour of abandoned Oz. 

Read on to discover the eeriest buildings Down Under...

Brooding at the edge of C Y O'Connor Beach in North Coogee, the South Fremantle Power Station opened back in 1951 and remained an emblem of the area's development for several decades. But, eventually, the power station was deemed unprofitable and as such, its doors were closed for good by 1985.

While the towering chimney stacks were demolished soon after, the rest of the plant has been left to the whims of Mother Nature. And, though it's supposed to be off limits, the hulking structure – with its glassless windows, graffiti-ridden walls and rubble-strewn floors – has become the domain of urban explorers. The building has been described as "ripe for redevelopment", but it remains in its current state for now. 

A mammoth statue of King Neptune watches over the remnants of this abandoned water park near Perth. The park was built up in 1981 as part of an ambitious plan to draw more tourists to the area. Ultimately, its myriad pools and captive dolphin shows failed to make a splash and the park began leaking money. In 1990, Atlantis closed and was abandoned completely – today all that remains is a series of crumbling sculptures and graffitied buildings and, of course, the smiling God of the Sea himself. 

This castle-like building, completed in 1885, was once used to incarcerate the so-called "criminally insane". The facility operated for almost 90 years, before being decommissioned in 1973. Afterwards, it was left to decay for several decades. Today, though, visitors can take guided tours of the eerie cells and deserted corridors with a Behind the Walls Tour or a Night Tour.

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Perched on the Tasman Peninsula is the Port Arthur Historic Site, a former convict settlement once home to some 12,500 felons. Established in 1830, the site began life as a small timber station but would eventually serve as one of the toughest convict settlements in all of the country. Convicts were isolated, forced to perform many hours of hard labour and even served cruel forms of psychological punishment.

The prison complex was eventually closed in 1877, but visitors can still learn more about the site's sombre history here. Around 30 buildings dot the site, from the convict-built church to an eerie graveyard – some structures are well-preserved, others are mere ruined shells of their former selves. Ghosts tours are also available, where guides regale tales of spirits and spectres by the light of a lantern.

It was 1934 when the Grove Hill Hotel, built entirely from recycled materials, first opened its doors. The ramshackle pub and favourite local boozer had been serving punters for decades, before owner Stan Heausler decided to shutter the joint and retire in 2016. But just three months later the public demand was so much that Heausler reopened the beloved spot. The reopening was short-lived, though, and the octogenarian closed the pub for good in 2018 – its future remains to be seen.

Tarban Creek Asylum, later renamed Gladesville, has a dark history indeed. Opened in 1838 and perched on the shores of the Parramatta River in the Sydney suburb of Gladesville, the psychiatric hospital was tipped as the first purpose-built asylum in the area. The facility was originally intended for just 60 patients but it's reported that more than 100 people were admitted here by the 1840s.

Much has been written about the horrific treatment that patients suffered at this asylum in its earlier years, including shock 'therapies' and physical abuse, and many of the patients were buried on site, leading to mass graves. The facility was eventually closed in the 1990s. Today a huddle of haunting structures remain, overgrowth shrouding their wasting walls.

Although no longer in use, this eerie railway passage isn't entirely deserted – in fact, scores of bright glow-worms have made their home here. The tunnel, officially the heritage-listed Metropolitan Tunnel, was first built back in the 1880s but by 1915 it had closed, apparently due to the dangers posed by soot and smoke. It is extremely popular with off-the-beaten-track adventurers and the general public, who have access again as long as precautions are taken to protect themselves (Wellington boots are advised) and the glow-worm population.

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This vast malthouse complex, named for its location in Mittagong in the Southern Highlands, first opened in 1899 and operated right up to the 1980s. For many decades it was owned and used by Tooth and Co., a major New South Wales brewery, but a destructive fire and the eventual decline of Tooth and Co. itself meant the historic malthouse was finally abandoned.

Two main buildings still remain, albeit beaten by the weather and emblazoned with graffiti – and despite their deterioration over the decades, the creaking structures are still a striking sight. While it is no longer accessible by the public, it can be viewed from behind a security fence. The deserted malthouse had also been nominated for state heritage status.

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Once a working cargo ship, the SS Ayrfield is now trussed up in Homebush Bay, in a western Sydney suburb, and serves as a favoured subject for travelling photographers. The bay is home to the wrecks of several abandoned freighters, which were decommissioned and left behind to moulder. The SS Ayrfield in particular took on a new lease of life in its desertion – its hull is entirely swallowed by trees that have transformed the defunct ship into a floating forest. 

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This little cattlemen's hut can be found along an easy circuit hike through the Bogong High Plains (known as Wallace's Heritage Trail), and is thought to be the oldest structure of its kind in the region. Though the dinky hut, wrought from snow gum slabs and woollybutt shingles, might not look much, it was built in the late 19th century and, wonderfully preserved, remains a symbol of the area's farming tradition.

Paronella Park was the brainchild of Spanish-born José Paronella, who snapped up a small plot of land by Mena Creek Falls. His lush site eventually consisted of a concrete castle, plus a swimming pool and some 7,000 trees. José sadly passed away in the 1940s and by the 1970s, the park had been sold outside the family. A devastating fire, as well as several cyclones, also ripped through the castle, leaving it in a decrepit state. Now, though, preservation work has been carried out by the current owners and tourists typically come to marvel at the castle's shell and wander the leafy grounds on day and night tours.

This series of ruins on the Cobourg Peninsula represent a failed attempt by the British to settle Australia's northern coast. The fated settlement, now part of Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, was named Victoria. It was established in 1838 but the settlement's remote location, not to mention its festering diseases, meant life was a struggle.

By 1849, the settlement, which included a church, a hospital and houses, had been branded a failure and was dissolved. Today a remote knot of crumbling ruins remain amid the overgrowth. Visitors to Garig Gunak Barlu National Park can take a boat ride to explore them (a permit is needed to access the park, which reopens for the season in May 2024).

The Italianate-style Beechworth Asylum, also known as Mayday Hills, dates to the 1860s and was in operation for 128 years. More than 1,000 patients lived here during the asylum's peak, making it one of the largest hospitals of its kind in Victoria state. According to preserved diaries and reports, cruel treatments and restraints such as straight jackets were once used and the facility was decommissioned in 1995. Now the haunting site offers history, ghost and photography tours.

The hollow shell of the once-thrumming Royal Hotel is all that remains of Linda, a ghost town in western Tasmania. The abandoned mining town had thrived in the late 19th century, but when the mines closed, the settlement fell into decline. Royal Hotel, which gained notoriety for its raucousness and one serious brawl in particular, eventually shuttered in the 1950s too. Today its crumbling carcass is a reminder of the town that once was. 

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All The Rivers Run was a TV mini-series adapted from Nancy Cato's 1950s novel of the same name. The series hit screens in the 1980s and followed an orphaned young protagonist who finds herself shipwrecked off the Victoria coast. It was filmed in Victoria itself, not far from Wombat State Park in Blackwood, and a creaking wooden saloon and bank still remain from the abandoned set.

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Tucked away in Western Australia's picturesque Hamersley Range is Wittenoom – a former outback mining town that leaked residents due to the threats posed from asbestos. Still a small handful of stalwart residents remain, though the government removed town status in 2006, cutting off power and services. Deserted buildings dot the town, including the humble Doc Holiday's Cafe with its faded sign, peeling paint and air of nostalgia.

This former convict settlement and convict probation station sits on Tasmania's windswept Maria Island, and operated from 1825 to 1850. Over the decades, the site was home to hundreds of convicts, forced to labour here under severe conditions. Today the settlement is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and visitors still come for a dose of history and to drink in the 13 preserved buildings from the era.

A sister asylum to the facilities at Kew and Beechworth, Aradale opened in 1865 to serve the colony of Victoria. The sprawling complex took in patients right up to 1998 when it was finally closed. At its peak, around 900 people would come through the asylum's doors each year.

Now curious visitors can wander through the abandoned institution on a two-hour guided tour, peeking inside wasting wards and traipsing through echoing corridors. 

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The burnt-orange ruins of the Transcontinental Hotel dominate Farina, a ghost town that declined through the 20th century. They stand, together with a smattering of other wasting buildings, as an emblem of this former railhead and farming town, which was left abandoned due to parched conditions and a rerouted railway track. The hotel, which also served as a hospital and boarding house over the years, has battled the elements to remain the town's most striking attraction. 

Queensland's Boggo Road Jail, or the Brisbane Prison, is one of the most infamous prisons in Australia's history. It first opened its doors in 1883 and, over the decades, grabbed headlines with stories of inmate hunger strikes, riots and hair-raising escapes. Thousands of people were incarcerated in the 109 years that the facility operated, including notorious criminals such as “Slim” Halliday, who became known as the "Houdini of Boggo Road" for his multiple escapes.

Guided tours explore the abandoned gaol each week. The History Tour tells stories of the prisoners' day-to-day lives and the infamous rooftop protests here, while the Escape Tour has a special focus on the facility's many jail-breakers. Most insightful of all is the Prisoner Tour which is led by a former inmate. Tours are currently suspended due to development work happening next door. Check the website for updates on when the prison will reopen.

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This abandoned homestead in South Australia might not look like much but fans of Australian rock band Midnight Oil will be well familiar with its image. Captured by lauded landscape photographer Ken Duncan, a picture of this humble homestead graced the cover of the band's 1987 album Diesel and Dust. Today it remains in its solitary state, a symbol of both the stark Australian outback and a group of rock legends.

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A stone's throw from the coastal city of Mandurah lies Castle Fun Park, a wholesome family amusement park that was completed in 1979. The family-friendly site would attract travellers en route to Perth with its fairy-tale European-style castle, playground and swimming pool in the shape of Australia. Sadly, though, the stream of visitors began to dry up and the park closed in the early 2000s. A bushfire ravaged the site's remnants so now all that still stands is the turreted castle surrounded by trees and covered in graffiti.

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