Destitute Women and Smoking at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, Australia
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Destitute Women and Smoking at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, Australia Peter Davies
Published online: 18 November 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract The Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney, Australia, was established in 1819 to accommodate male convicts, but in later years the building served as a depot for immigrant women (1848–86) and as an asylum for destitute women (1862–86). The occupation of the latter group in particular resulted in the loss of large numbers of clay tobacco pipes under the floorboards. The quantity and distribution of the pipes is used here to examine smoking behavior among the destitute female inmates, and to assess their relationships with each other and the institution in which they were confined. Keywords Destitute asylums . Clay pipes . Women . Australia
Introduction The Hyde Park Barracks (HPB) is well known for its association with Sydney’s male convicts in the first half of the nineteenth century. From 1848, however, the building served as a depot for immigrant women arriving from Britain and Ireland, and from 1862, as an asylum for destitute women. Little is known, however, about the daily, institutional lives of these confined women. Renovations made to the building during this period resulted in the formation of substantial underfloor archaeological deposits closely associated with these female occupants. This paper examines a substantial collection of clay pipes, and matches and match boxes, to explore the smoking behavior of the female inmates, and their negotiation of relationships with institution managers and wider society. Gojak and Stuart (1999) have emphasized the research potential of clay tobacco pipes for Australian historical archaeology. These items were widely available in the
P. Davies (*) Archaeology Program, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia e-mail: [email protected]
Int J Histor Archaeol (2011) 15:82–101
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nineteenth century, broke easily, and are commonly recovered from archaeological deposits. They have the potential to provide insight into important aspects of social, economic and political life in colonial Australia, as well as being an ideal tool for dating. In this paper I examine the spatial distribution of clay pipes and other material to explore discrete behaviors and activities within the walls of the barracks, in a context where very little historical information about room function is preserved. This enhances both historical and archaeological understanding of a well known but complex and poorly understood site. The aim is to move beyond discussions about pipe manufacturers’ marks, to interpret the actual behaviors that contributed to the archaeological record, and how these can be understood in a context of institutional confinement and refuge. Comparison is also made here with conditions in other charitable and penal institutions of the period. This discussion contributes to a much wider debate in historical archaeology about the role of institutions in the nineteenth century, the treatment of
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