Public Record Office Victoria  
Home Contact Us Site Map
About PROV
Access to the Collection
Records Management
Events & Programs
Publications
Exhibitions
Education
 
Terms of use for accessing public records can be found on our Copyright statement.

Our addresses can be found on the Contact Us page.

Telephone:
+61 3 9348 5600
Freecall:
1800 657 452
Email:
ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au

 
Series VPRS 8369
Correspondence, Photographs and History Sheets of Certain Male Criminals
About this Series Related Series Accessing the records in this Series
Date Range: Series By 1898 - ? 1898
  Series in Custody 1898 - 1898
  Contents 1862 - 1902
Public Access: Open
Location: North Melbourne
Format of Records: Physical
 
Agency which created this SeriesAgency which created this Series
Display entries per page
Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1898 - 1898 Penal and Gaols Branch, Chief Secretary's Department VA 1464
Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series
Display entries per page
Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1983 - 1992 Office of Corrections VA 1063
2003 - cont Corrections Victoria VA 4819
Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series
  • How to use the Records
    The Records Description List details the names of all prisoners. Photocopies have been made of three of the original history sheets which are stored in a separate location for security reasons.

    Background

    The photographs and criminal histories were produced in response to a request from a Mr Marshall Lyle acting on behalf of a Professor Lombroso from the Royal University, Turin, Italy. Mr Marshall initially wrote to the Chief Secretary, then responsible for the Penal and Goals function asking for photographs and criminal histories of Victorian prisoners for "scientific research". This initial correspondence was registered in the Chief Secretary's registry system, (see VPRS 3992, unit 989 G3155.) and then forwarded for action to the Inspector-General of Penal Establishments.

    The Inspector-General approved the request and forwarded the correspondence in this series along with the Chief Secretary's correspondence (G3155) to the Governor of Pentridge asking him to comply with the request.

    Two sets of photographs were produced, one set of photographs and histories were sent to Professor Lombroso via Mr Lyle and the second set was filed with the Penal and Gaols Branch.

    Contents

    The proforma criminal history sheets detail the following information:

    Register Number
    Name
    Native Place
    Year of Birth
    Arrived in Colony
    Arrived per Ship
    Religion
    Education - Read or Write
    Height without shoes
    Weight
    Colour of Hair
    Colour of Eyes
    Particular Marks
    Where and when tried
    Convictions - Offence/Sentence.

    The pro-forma sheets come in four colours to distinguish between:

    English Speaking Races:
    blue for those - "5ft.5in. and under"
    yellow for those - "5ft.5in. to 5ft.9in. inclusive"
    buff for those - "5ft.7in. to 5ft.9in inclusive"
    green for those - "above 5ft.9in."

    Date Ranges

    Most history sheets have been signed by the Governor of Pentridge on the 11 July 1898. However some individual history sheets show that annotations regarding a prisoner's discharge/death have been made as late as 1902.

    The contents in custody date range has been imputed from the earliest date of trial of the prisoners, 1862, and the last date of action noted on the sheets, 1902.

    System of Arrangement/Control

    The information would appear to have been compiled from a source such as the Pentridge Prison Registers (see VPRS 10858).

    It would appear that both the registration number from the Central Register of Male Prisoners (VPRS 515) and the separate Pentridge Prison register numbers have been noted on the history sheets. These registration numbers have no bearing on the arrangement of the history sheets, at least as extant at the time of the series being registered in 1992.




    Provenience

    It is not known how these records came into the custody of the Public Records Office. They were located, for quite some time, within the vault in the Laverton Repository. The suspension folder and tab in which they were housed indicate they may have been kept in the (Archives Division ?) Search Room at some stage.

    The original history sheets for Edward Kelly, James Kelly and Andrew E. Scott are located in the plan press, drawer no.2 in the vault.
    Public Record Office TR NO: 92/028
    RECORDS DESCRIPTION LIST


    VPRS NO: 8369/P1 DATE RANGE: c.1862 - c.1902

    VPRS TITLE: Correspondence, Photographs and History Sheets of Certain Male Criminals



    UNIT RECORDS DESCRIPTION UNIT RECORDS DESCRIPTION


    1 WILLIAM WILLIAMS
    alias William Hobern
    JOHN WATSON
    WILLIAMS R WALL
    JOHN KALLAWK
    JOHN WEACHURCH
    alias John Hallam
    alias John Taylor
    JAMES JAMIESON
    ARTHUR SEYMOUR
    JAMES DALTON
    HENRY LARKIN
    PHILLIPS JACOBS
    THOMAS WILSON
    MICHAEL STRAHAN
    THOMAS KILRAIN
    MICHAEL BUCKLEY
    MARTIN HOLLY
    JOHN NOEL
    JAMES FERRIS
    JOHN SMITH
    JOHN SMITH
    ERNEST DOVE
    WALTER LEVY
    WILLIAM PETTIS
    PETER THOMAS
    JOHN RICHARDSON
    JOHN SULLIVAN
    CHARLES MCDONALD
    RICHARD WILLIAMS
    CHARLES STEVENS
    EDWARD ELWORTHY
    WILLIAM CAULFIELD
    JAMES MCDONALD
    JOHN WILSON
    FREDERICK JOHNSTONE
    WILLIAM REID
    FREDERICK J. CORDINGLEY
    ALBERT WILLIAMS alias DEEMING
    1 Cont. HENRY JAMES McKAY
    ANDREW HUTCHINSON
    WILLIAM BROWN
    JOHN WILSON
    EDWARD KELLY
    JAMES KELLY
    AND

  • Function / Content


  • Recordkeeping System
More research resourcesMore research resources
Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
Display entries per page
Date Range Series Title Series Number
Controlled SeriesControlled Series
Display entries per page
Date Range Series Title Series Number
Previous SeriesPrevious Series
Display entries per page
Transfer Date Series Title Series Number
Subsequent SeriesSubsequent Series
Display entries per page
Transfer Date Series Title Series Number
List/s of records in this seriesList/s of records in this series
Display entries per page
Consignment Number Contents Date Range Public Access No. of Units
P0001 Circa 1862 - Circa 1902 Open 1
Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
Display entries per page
Date Range Series Title Series Number
More research resourcesMore research resources

More Help
Help On This Page

A series is a group of records which are recorded or maintained by the same agency (or agencies)

Series information helps you to understand the context of records - why, when and by whom they were created.

To locate records use the "Accessing the records" tab.

More about series details pages

   
© Copyright 2005   Government of Victoria   Disclaimer    Accessibility   Privacy   Contact Us