Insanity, Identity and Empire: Immigrants and Institutional Confinement in Australia and New Zealand, 1873–1910

240 Pages·2015·2.214 MB·English

by  Catharine Coleborne

General editor: Andrew S. Thompson
Founding editor: John M. MacKenzie
When the ‘Studies in Imperialism’ series was founded
more than thirty years ago, emphasis was laid upon the
conviction that ‘imperialism as a cultural phenomenon
had as significant an effect on the dominant as on the
subordinate societies’. With well over a hundred titles now
published, this remains the prime concern of the series.
Cross-disciplinary work has indeed appeared covering the
full spectrum of cultural phenomena, as well as examining
aspects of gender and sex, frontiers and law, science and
the environment, language and literature, migration and
patriotic societies, and much else. Moreover, the series has
always wished to present comparative work on European
and American imperialism, and particularly welcomes the
submission of books in these areas. The fascination with
imperialism, in all its aspects, shows no sign of abating,
and this series will continue to lead the way in encouraging
the widest possible range of studies in the field. ‘Studies
in Imperialism’ is fully organic in its development, always
seeking to be at the cutting edge, responding to the latest
interests of scholars and the needs of this ever-expanding
area of scholarship.
Insanity, identity and empire
SELECTED TITLES A VAILABLE IN THE SERIES
WRITING IMPERIAL HISTORIES
ed. Andrew S. Thompson
MUSEUMS AND EMPIRE
Natural history, human cultures and colonial identities
John M. MacKenzie
MISSIONARY FAMILIES
Race, gender and generation on the spiritual frontier
Emily J. Manktelow
THE COLONISATION OF TIME
Ritual, routine and resistance in the British Empire
Giordano Nanni
BRITISH CULTURE AND THE END OF EMPIRE
ed. Stuart Ward
SCIENCE, RACE RELATIONS AND RESISTANCE
Britain, 1870–1914
Douglas A. Lorimer
GENTEEL WOMEN
Empire and domestic material culture, 1840−1910
Dianne Lawrence
EUROPEAN EMPIRES AND THE PEOPLE
Popular responses to imperialism in France, Britain, the Netherlands,
Belgium, Germany and Italy
ed. John M. MacKenzie
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
ed. Saul Dubow
Insanity, identity
and empire
immigrants and institutional
confinement in australia and
new zealand, 1873–1910
Catharine Coleborne
MANCHESTER
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright © Catharine Coleborne 2015
The right of Catharine Coleborne to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
ALTRINCHAM STREET, MANCHESTER M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 0 7190 8724 0 hardback
First published 2015
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any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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Printed in Great Britain by
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CONTENTS
List of illustrations—vi
Founding Editor’s Introduction—ix
Acknowledgements—xii
Introduction: Insanity, identity and empire 1
1 Insanity in the ‘age of mobility’: Melbourne and Auckland,
1850s–1880s 20
2 Immigrants, mental health and social institutions: Melbourne
and Auckland, 1850s–1890s 51
3 Passing through: narrating patient identities in the colonial
hospitals for the insane, 1873–1910 84
4 White men and weak masculinity: men in the public asylums,
1860s–1900s 114
5 Insanity and white femininity: women in the public asylums,
1860s–1900s 139
6 The ‘Others’: inscribing difference in colonial institutional
settings 164
Conclusion 183
Bibliography—190
Index —218
[ v ]
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
1.1 ‘Emigrants landing at the Queen’s Wharf, Melbourne’, from
a Sketch by N. Chevalier, Esq., State Library of Victoria 22
1.2 ‘Queen Street, Auckland’, 3 October 1883, State Library of
Victoria 23
1.3 ‘Canvas Town in 1853’, from a Sketch by S. T. Gill, State
Library of Victoria 35
2.1 ‘Night refuge at the Immigrants Home’, W. H. Harrison,
Melbourne 1873, Wood Engraving, reproduced with the
permission of the National Library of Australia 59
2.2 ‘Australian Sketches: The Melbourne Immigrants’ Home’,
London, 1872, Wood engraving by William Ralston,
reproduced with the permission of the National Library of
Australia 63
2.3 ‘Casuals at the Immigrants’ Home’, 19 June 1880,
Australasian Sketcher, State Library of Victoria 66
2.4 ‘The Ne’er-Do-Well in the Colonies’, Illustrated Australian
News, 1 October 1890, State Library of Victoria 67
2.5 An interior view of the Costley Home New Infirmary
Ward, Auckland, 9 December 1906, Sir George Grey Special
Collections, Auckland Libraries 72
Map
1.1 Map of south-eastern Australia and New Zealand, showing
major places mentioned in the text, created by Max
Oulton, Cartographer, Geography, Tourism and
Environmental Planning Programme, University of
Waikato 24
[ vi ]
LIST Of I LLUSTRATIONS
Tables
2.1 Overview of patient sample 56
2.2 Length of time in the Australian colonies from IAS report 62
3.1 Marital status of inmates in the sampled data 92
3.2 Birthplaces 93
3.3 Religious affiliations 95
3.4 Occupations 99
3.5 Medical diagnoses 104
3.6 Patient outcomes 105
[ vii ]