Henry Monson (gaoler)
Encyclopedia
Henry Monson was a founding settler in Dunedin
, New Zealand
. His journal, recording his career as Dunedin's first full-time gaoler, forms an historical document on social conditions in New Zealand in the 1850s.
Henry Monson was born on August 25, 1793 in Cawood
, North Yorkshire
, England
, the son of Bernard Monson, a labourer. By 1825 he was living in London
, where he married and set up in business as a builder and carpenter, only to go bankrupt in 1826. A devoted Methodist, he worked to help London's slum children as the superintendent of a Ragged School
. In 1847 he again went bankrupt and turned to a neighbour, the computer pioneer Charles Babbage
, for help in obtaining assisted passage to New Zealand. He duly sailed on the John Wickliffe
along with two of his sons, William Henry and John Robert, arriving at Port Chalmers
on March 23, 1848.
During Monson's first three years in Dunedin his struggle to survive as a builder and carpenter became increasingly difficult, and was brought to a head by the burning down of his own painfully built house. The crisis was resolved in 1851 when, through Charles Babbage's continuing influence, he was appointed to keep Dunedin's newly established gaol. He took up his duties on September 1, 1851, and at the same time began to keep the journal which has secured him his small niche in New Zealand history. Monson's administration was informed by his Christian principles, which led him to lead prayer meetings, teach some of his prisoners reading and writing, and (most unusually at the time) to abstain from the use of flogging. He set out his philosophy in an official report:
This liberal policy, which was continuously opposed by his immediate superiors in the Provincial government, was found by a delegation of Visiting Judges in 1855 to produce encouraging results:
Henry Monson retired from his post on November 15, 1861. Five years later, on December 9, 1866, he died at a friend's house in Maungatua, Otago
. He was 73.
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. His journal, recording his career as Dunedin's first full-time gaoler, forms an historical document on social conditions in New Zealand in the 1850s.
Henry Monson was born on August 25, 1793 in Cawood
Cawood
Cawood is a large village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England that is notable as the finding-place of the Cawood sword....
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Bernard Monson, a labourer. By 1825 he was living in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he married and set up in business as a builder and carpenter, only to go bankrupt in 1826. A devoted Methodist, he worked to help London's slum children as the superintendent of a Ragged School
Ragged school
Ragged Schools were charitable schools dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century England. The schools were developed in working class districts of the rapidly expanding industrial towns...
. In 1847 he again went bankrupt and turned to a neighbour, the computer pioneer Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
, for help in obtaining assisted passage to New Zealand. He duly sailed on the John Wickliffe
John Wickliffe (ship)
John Wickliffe was the first ship to arrive carrying Scottish settlers, including Otago settlement founder Captain William Cargill, in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand...
along with two of his sons, William Henry and John Robert, arriving at Port Chalmers
Port Chalmers
Port Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....
on March 23, 1848.
During Monson's first three years in Dunedin his struggle to survive as a builder and carpenter became increasingly difficult, and was brought to a head by the burning down of his own painfully built house. The crisis was resolved in 1851 when, through Charles Babbage's continuing influence, he was appointed to keep Dunedin's newly established gaol. He took up his duties on September 1, 1851, and at the same time began to keep the journal which has secured him his small niche in New Zealand history. Monson's administration was informed by his Christian principles, which led him to lead prayer meetings, teach some of his prisoners reading and writing, and (most unusually at the time) to abstain from the use of flogging. He set out his philosophy in an official report:
The punishment of vengeance or anything else which is calculated to embitter the life of a Prisoner, beyond that of Barrs and Fence, I most strenuously condemn…A Criminal of any "Class" cannot be improved by any mode of severity; he may, and generally will be, by an enlightened spirit of humanity.
This liberal policy, which was continuously opposed by his immediate superiors in the Provincial government, was found by a delegation of Visiting Judges in 1855 to produce encouraging results:
Mr. Monson the Gaoler appears to have stood nearly alone in all efforts hitherto to improve the moral status of the prisoners…It is but just a tribute of praise to say that he has evinced great zeal, and that his system of "moral suasion" coupled with firmness appears to have succeeded where, perhaps, under the circumstances, no other would.
Henry Monson retired from his post on November 15, 1861. Five years later, on December 9, 1866, he died at a friend's house in Maungatua, Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
. He was 73.