THE SECOND CONVICT SETTLEMENT ON NORFOLK ISLAND 1825-55 - YEARS OF BRUTALITY

The Second Convict Settlement at Kingston on Norfolk Island earned the reputation as the most brutal and inhumane for prisoners. This settlement was constructed over the ashes and ruins of the First Convict Settlement of Sydney Town. The British Government determined that the Kingston Settlement would be suitable for the imprisonment of “the worst criminals of transportation”. That meant that many of the prisoners were double offenders - meaning that they were sentenced to transportation in England and had offended during their sentence in the colony. The Convict Settlement was under the control of commandants who were mainly military officers. In general they followed the instructions of extreme discipline which explains why the Second Settlement earned the reputation of extreme hardship, misery and brutality for convicts.
Take your students to Kingston. Find out why the New Gaol design added to the suffering of prisoners. Use the maps and photographs to understand a chapter in Australia’s convict history that has been regarded as the most extreme.