The immigrant ship the Susanne Godeffroy departed Hamburg on 06 May and arrived in Queensland on 06 September 1865, carrying a cargo of hard-working and hopeful immigrant German families ready to try their luck in the New World. Among them was the Ammenhauser family – brothers Johannes and Conrad and their respective wives and children.Continue reading “A Short and Troubled Life – Tales from the Proserpine.”
Tag Archives: Reformatories
The Uncontrollable Child
The ability to control one’s child, especially one’s male child, was a mark of successful parenting in the 19th century. For families of the middle class and respectable working class, children were expected to make themselves generally useful and be subject to parental control before they began to work to help support the family (generallyContinue reading “The Uncontrollable Child”
Juvenile Justice in the 19th Century.
On board the Proserpine, hardened juvenile offenders mixed with small children with desperately unhappy backgrounds. Life was exceptionally harsh in the 19th century for children from impoverished families, and with no social security, crime was an option. The main difference between today’s tales of horror and the Victorian stories is that today there are Federal andContinue reading “Juvenile Justice in the 19th Century.”
Young Patrick's life of crime.
He was born at sea in 1855, and grew up in the Irishtown district of Ipswich. By 15 he was called a hardened criminal by the newspapers. When Patrick Long boarded the Hulk Proserpina in 1871, his parents were no longer in the picture, and although the hulk was supposed to be a reformatory and industrial school, there wasContinue reading “Young Patrick's life of crime.”
The fortunes of Edward Robinson Starkey
The Hulk Proserpine The Hulk ‘Proserpine’ was used as an Industrial School and Reformatory for boys in trouble in the late 19th century. Neglected children under ten years of age mixed with repeat offenders in their late teens on board the ship. Every entry in the admission Register told a tale – usually of familyContinue reading “The fortunes of Edward Robinson Starkey”
An old offender at 14
The life of James Duffy is baffling to the modern reader. He is recorded in the Entry Book of the Industrial and Reformatory School Brisbane on April 27, 1871. His height and weight were not recorded, but he was described as being of fair complexion, with grey eyes and black hair. His father was Mr TContinue reading “An old offender at 14”
Moreton Bay and More 