The Keeper or the Kept? Blurred Boundaries and Stafing Complexities in Late-Nineteenth-Century Institutions in Victoria

Abstract: Mass immigration driven by the discovery of gold in colonial Victoria in the mid to late nineteenth century gave rise to growth in regional areas which was accompanied by the building of institutions of social control. Focusing on the gaol and asylum opened in the newly-emerged town of Beechworth, this paper exposes the complexities of stafing these institutions, which were established not only to control ‘deviant’ populations, but to also reform, care for, and cure those incarcerated. Dificulties with recruiting and retaining an appropriately demeanoured and skilled workforce, combined with a contemporary understanding of the importance of prisoner and patient labour on reformation and cure, could lead to those incarcerated adopting the role of employee. Studies exploring the boundaries between those admitted to and those stafing institutions provide deeper insight into workforce complexities in this time period, and broaden our understanding of contemporary approaches to the reform of criminals and treatment of the mentally unwell.