1867 letter to Colonial Secretary regarding ‘lax conditions’ at Hokitika Gaol.
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On 7 May 1867 the Colonial Secretary was told that conditions were so lax at the Hokitika Gaol that the gaolor had to be dismissed.
A visit from a visiting Justice from Wellington signalled the end of the good times for the small number of prisoners in the goldfields town who were enjoying “first class” meals and were subject to “no discipline whatsoever”. One of the recently arrived prisoners was a hotel cook, John Vincent, who had stabbed housemaid Eliza Killeen in the breast then knifed a man who tried to restrain him before fleeing to the beach where he was dragged from the surf by a policeman and various bystanders. Under sentence of death (later commuted) he would have been one not considered deserving of a first class meal. Under the new regime anyone who had not “distinguished themselves with good conduct for not less than 6 months” were to have their food downgraded and tobacco rations terminated.
Shown here is the report to the Colonial Secretary on the state of the Hokitika Gaol.
R24262537
collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search#/?q=R24262537
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