The Swan River Colony and the Fremantle Jail website

The Swan River Colony and the Fremantle Jail website

Interpretive an adjective- describe to give meaning.

 

Swan River Colony

 

  1. Overview

 

Fremantle jail has various meanings

  1. A symbol of British authority in non-penal Swan River Colony.

Consolidation of dominance via control over the settlers and local indigenous people through being able to punish disobedience of the law by incarceration.

  1. Early years of settlement were fragile due a belief among settlers that the colony’s potential for agricultural endeavours had been misrepresented leading to resentment and a sense of feeling trapped. Many of the settlers were ill-prepared for the hash realities of settles life.
  2. Local Indigenous people resentment- the settlers were taking over their homeland and imposing the British legal system.
  3. The Swan River Colony establishes a local government with James Stirling as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Swan River Colony from June 1829. Stirling utilised the middle to upper middle-class settlers, many of whom are ex-military service man, for the implementation of legislative structures to allow for the administration of justice.
  4. Penal structure within the Swan River Colony.
  1. Fines
  2. The stocks
  3. Floggings
  4. Incarceration
  5. Marquis of Anglesea

The  first settlers arrive around in June 1829, and within the first 18 months of colonisation there were 1777 new arrivals with  80% of new arrivals being  indentured servants legally bound by British Law to “faithfully…perform all whatsoever shall be required of them,” and failure to do so could result in imprisonment, corporal punishment, fines, or the forfeiture of earned wages.  Under the British Master and Servant Act, breaches of employment contracts by workers were treated as criminal offences.  In the colony’s first two years, indentured servants made up around one third of all inmates, most imprisoned for “misconduct as a servant” or “leaving his master,” offences that typically resulted in weeks of hard labour.  Their masters expected them to be “subservient and loyal,” replicating the idealised servant of Britain—obedient, submissive, and unquestioning.  Yet the colony’s harsh realities quickly undermined these expectations.   Scarce cash, high prices, and limited arable land—meant many settlers could not support their workers, while servants often showed their discontent through absenteeism or drunkenness.

  1. Fremantle Jail

The Fremantle Round House, Western Australia’s first permanent public building.  Chronic shortages of cash meant many workers were paid in kind—food, tobacco, clothing, or alcohol. Alcohol abuse became widespread in the colony as settlers could “obtain spirituous liquors” with ease. Between 1831- 56 there were a total of 3,675 incarcerations.  The most common offense was drunkenness with over 1,000 incarcerations.  Next was larceny or stealing with over 500 cases, followed by the catch all misdemeanour with nearly 500 incarcerations.  Steve Errington, page 19)

Glimpse of prison life through the prisoners’ experiences and reaction to incarceration.

How prisoners reacted to their incarceration- primarily through escapes.

  1. Fremantle Prison
  2. An anchor for the Town of Fremantle
  3. Other uses of the building when you want to keep an eye on someone. Constant observations/surveillance.