"Criminals incapable of reform?" Re-assessing the population of Cockatoo Island Prison (Sydney), 1839-69

1787年至1868年间作为殖民者被运送到澳大利亚的16万多名英国和爱尔兰囚犯受到了极大的关注。在新南威尔士州从“惩罚性”殖民地过渡到“自由”殖民地之后，刑事司法系统内受到惩罚的人就少得多了(Finnane，1997：X-Xi)。Cockatoo岛监狱于1839年开业，一年后，囚犯停止运送到新南威尔士州，目的是惩罚被运送的罪犯中最惯犯和最暴力的人。这种原型在历史话语中盛行，他们被描述为“犯罪的疯子……[和]没有能力改造的罪犯”(Parker，1977：61)；“最绝望和被遗弃的人物”(O‘Carrigan，1994：)；以及“性格可疑的人”(新南威尔士州政府建筑师办公室，2009：29)。然而，这与事实相去甚远。我对1839年至1852年间抵达的1666名囚犯的分析表明，他们是压倒性的非暴力罪犯，在下级法院因轻微的财产犯罪而受审。他们也比通常认为的更加多样化，包括土著澳大利亚人、中国人和黑人囚犯，以及大多数英国人和爱尔兰人(Harman，2012)。该项目将公开提供与Cockatoo岛囚犯有关的极其详细的记录，向人们展示确切的囚犯群体。原始登记簿的电子版将包括罪犯的犯罪记录信息，但也包括他们的工作，无论他们是已婚还是有孩子，甚至他们的长相。它还将是一个可搜索姓名的数据库，这样家族历史学家就可以搜索他们的祖先，他们可能已经被监禁在岛上。目前的情况是，只要祖先还在“罪犯系统”中，他们就可以在网上找到被运送的祖先的信息，但一旦他们被授予休假通行证并成为“自由的”，他们似乎就会消失。然而，许多前往新南威尔士州的前罪犯和自由移民在当地被定罪，这些记录可以为我们提供他们在殖民地内生活的信息。这些登记簿中包含的数据类型也将使研究人员能够调查以下问题：(1)罪犯是否比自由移民更有可能再次犯罪？(2)罪犯的子女比其他人更有可能犯罪？(3)媒体报道的淘金热期间，主要是中国移民的涌入是否真的导致了犯罪浪潮？(4)1830至1853年间出台的法律实际上对起诉强盗(强盗)有效吗？(5)澳大利亚的刑事司法系统是否更具改良性，尽管发展了更严厉的罪犯运输系统？除了数据集，该网站将包括罪犯个人的“生平传记”，向你展示如何使用这个数据集来拼凑一个生平故事。它还警告说，不要仅仅通过定罪记录来理解现实生活中的人。书中有很多引人入胜的故事，包括获奖拳击手约翰·佩里(John Perry)，两个弗雷德里克夫妇的爱情故事，以及抵制监禁的中国掘金者谭恩美。此外，还将为希望直接接触历史材料而无需离开教室的中学生和本科生提供教学资源。总体而言，该网站邀请任何对犯罪和惩罚历史感兴趣的人，以及任何访问联合国教科文组织世界遗产--鹦鹉岛的人，尝试在数据库中搜索一个名字，或者阅读关于一个有特色的罪犯的生平故事。然而，它要求他们思考这些人的生活是如何以及为什么与国家交织在一起的，导致他们被监禁，以及历史是如何抹去了他们在国家之外的大部分生活。

Significant attention has been paid to the more than 160,000 British and Irish convicts who were transported Australia as colonists between 1787 and 1868. Much less has been said about those punished within the criminal justice system that arose in the wake of New South Wales' transition from 'penal' to 'free' colony (Finnane, 1997: x-xi). Cockatoo Island prison opened in 1839, a year before convict transportation to New South Wales ceased, and was intended to punish the most recidivist and violent of the transported convicts. This archetype has prevailed in historical discourses, and they have been described as 'criminal lunatics... [and] criminals incapable of reform' (Parker, 1977: 61); 'the most desperate and abandoned characters' (O'Carrigan, 1994: 64); and people of 'doubtful character' (NSW Government Architect's Office, 2009: 29). Yet, this was far from the truth. My analysis of 1666 prisoners arriving between 1839-52 show they were overwhelming non-violent offenders, tried for minor property crimes at lower courts. They were also far more diverse population than commonly recognised, including Indigenous Australian, Chinese and black convicts alongside majority British and Irish men (Harman, 2012).This project will make publicly availably extremely detailed records relating to Cockatoo Island's prisoners to show people firsthand exactly who made up the inmate population. The digital version of the original registers will include information on convicts' criminal record, but also their job, whether they were married or had children, and even what they looked like. It will also be a name-searchable database so family historians can search for their ancestors, who may have been incarcerated on the island. As it stands, they will be able find information online about ancestors who were transported as long as they remained in the 'convict system', but they may seem to disappear as soon as they are awarded their ticket-of-leave and become 'free'. However, many former convicts, and free immigrants, to New South Wales were convicted locally, and these records can give us information about their lives within the colony. The type of data included in these registers will also allow researchers to investigate questions including:(1) were convicts more likely to offend again than free immigrants? (2) Were the children of convicts more likely to offend than others? (3) Did the influx of mostly Chinese migrants during the gold rush actually lead to a crime-wave, as reported in the press?(4) Were laws introduced between 1830 and 1853, actually effective at prosecuting bushrangers (highwaymen)? (5) Was the criminal-judicial system in Australia more rehabilitative, despite developing out of a harsher convict transportation system?Alongside the dataset, the website will include 'life-biographies' of individual convicts to show you how this dataset can be used to piece together a life-story. It also to warns against understanding a real-life person only through the records of their conviction. There many of fascinating stories to tell, including those 'John Perry' ('Black Perry') the prizewinning boxer; the love story of the 'Two Fredericks'; and Tan, the Chinese gold-digger who resisted his incarceration. In addition, there will be teaching resources for secondary school children and undergraduate university students who want to engage directly with historical materials, without having to leave their classroom.Overall, this website invites anyone with an interest in the history of crime and punishment, and any visitors to the UNESCO world heritage site 'Cockatoo Island', to try searching for a name in the database or read about a featured convict's life story. It asks them, though, to think about how and why these people's lives intersected with the state, leading to their incarceration, and how history has erased much of their lives outside of it.