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The Archaeology of the Convict Probation System: The Labor Landscapes of Port Arthur and the Cascades Probation Station, 1839–55

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Abstract

In the British colony of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania, Australia) the period 1839-53 witnessed an irrevocable change in the way in which prisoners (convicts) were managed. Known as the “probation system”, its introduction saw convicts newly transported from the corners of the Empire sequestered in government-run stations across the colony’s length and breadth. At these places, rigorous and uncompromising discipline, classificatory regimes, religious inculcation and trades-training would see the convict molded into working stock for the colony. In reality, such ideologies were to be undone by reactive planning, miscommunication and chronic under-resourcing, as well as helplessly undermined by unforeseen economic and political circumstances. Condemned as a failure, probation has nonetheless left an indelible mark on Tasmania’s landscape. A system only implemented in Van Diemen’s Land and Norfolk Island, it can rightfully claim a significance that extends well beyond these islands’ shores, playing a critical role in Britain’s globe-spanning penological enterprise. In this paper, we chart the course of probation, simultaneously outlining a framework for engaging with these landscapes where penology and labor was so closely intertwined. It will be illustrated with two examples drawn from the Tasman Peninsula: the Port Arthur penal station (1830-77) and Cascades probation station (1842-55). Using archeological and historical enquiry, the different impacts that probation had upon the penological and labor management of these places are examined, providing examples of how the significant landscapes of the probation-era can be examined.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewer for their insightful comments and colleagues at the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (Tasmania). Thanks as always to the Clark family of Koonya for their assistance and unflagging interest. Also to the many volunteers who have worked on our convict conduct records transcription project. Thanks are also due to the 2018 University of New England fieldschool participants for help in collecting the geophysical data. This research is supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Project [grant number DP170103642].

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  1. School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351, Australia

    Richard Tuffin & Martin Gibbs

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Tuffin, R., Gibbs, M. The Archaeology of the Convict Probation System: The Labor Landscapes of Port Arthur and the Cascades Probation Station, 1839–55. Int J Histor Archaeol 24, 589–617 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-019-00523-w

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