The gaol was built between 1836-1839 and closed its doors in 2011, more than 170 years later.

Thanks to a team of more than 180 volunteers, led by the Berrima District Rotary Club, the 2015 Australia Day long weekend saw the temporary reopening of the gaol doors.

In all of its long history, this kind of public access to the gaol has never before been seen.

Berrima District Rotary Club president Allen Cupitt said the aim of the weekend was to give unprecedented access to the gaol and share in the interesting things about the site.

"It's the first time it's been completely open to the public, we've cleaned and prepared the courtyards and opened a selection of cells that are safe for public viewing," he said.

The volunteers were expecting a busy first day, but it completely exceeded expectations.

"We had 400 pre-booked tickets, so we knew it would be fairly busy," Mr. Cupitt said.

"By about 2pm we'd had over two thousand people through."

Don't miss your chance to see inside the sandstone walls. Berrima GaolBreak will continue to provide access to the historic building over the long weekend, open 9am to 5pm both Sunday, January 25 and Monday, January 26.