South Hobart's 'female factory' - ie convict women's prison - has recently been much renovated. It's gained World Heritage status in fact, and is well worth a visit.
There were in fact five female factories in Van Diemens Land, but this is the best known and best kept.
You get to read about some of the individuals caught up in this system. Like the male convicts, a lot of them seem to have been victims of hard economic times and ultra-harsh punishments for trivial crimes.The whole thing was clearly not just about criminal justice, and relieving pressure on Britain's gaols. It was a big industry, providing wives and servants for the colonists. Just as the male prisoners provided free labour for the land owners.
So you could argue there was a useful function for the place. What's the useful function of our modern day prison systems, I wonder?
No comments:
Post a Comment