Story: Prisons

The female division of Mt Eden Gaol, 1900

The female division of Mt Eden Gaol, 1900

This is the female division of Mt Eden Gaol in 1900. During the 19th century women were locked up in the same prisons as men. In the 1890s groups such as the National Council of Women and the Women's Christian Temperance Union campaigned for separate women's prisons. Arthur Hume, the inspector general of prisons, rejected the idea on the grounds that there were too few women prisoners to justify the expense. The first women's prison, at Addington in Christchurch, was not set up until 1913, four years after Hume retired.

Using this item

Auckland City Libraries - Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, Sir George Grey Special Collections
Reference: AWNS-19000803-9-8

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Peter Clayworth, 'Prisons - Women in prison', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/36778/the-female-division-of-mt-eden-gaol-1900 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Peter Clayworth, published 20 Jun 2012