Penal modifications: the anglocizing of te whanganui a tara

Abstract

This paper examines the urban modifications made by prisoners which contributed to the development and conversion of Te Whanganui a Tara (lit=the great harbour of Tara) into the Anglo-colonial city of Wellington in New Zealand. The importance of prison labour in the creation of urban places was particularly supported by the needs of the colony, as Pratt notes in Punishment in a perfect society "it was claimed that "as labour is scarce in the colony, the best practical remedy would seem to be to authorise [the prisoners'] detention in the colony and their employment at hard labour on some useful public work" (p88). The new town-cum-city was both shaped by inmates and, as its making was hard labour punishment, directed its prisoner-makers towards a desired Victorian reformation. The paper documentsthe prison labour deployed in the creation of New Zealand's capital city, with a particular emphasis on road-making and public institutions, and considers the social ramifications of the seemingly pervasive presence of prisoners throughout this urban space and their interface with other Wellington citizens.