Part Three
In the Prison Yard – 20th century Reform Attempts
by Leane Te Boekhorst*
“There is something fundamentally wrong with the system that cannot produce better results in the fields of reformation and social rehabilitation.”
– New Zealand Herald, 1944
Ideas around penal reform shifted in the 20th century. The Auckland Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Society (DPAS) continued to operate well into the 20th century, although changes in attitudes and viewpoints saw DPAS shift in its working. The inter-war period saw few penal reform societies being formed, because of the war; many men had died in the war and public support had wavered. As this article will show, the 20th century saw a massive shake up for the Auckland DPAS but would result in a new era for penal reform in Auckland.
“Like a Human Zoo” – Reverend George Moreton
An important figure in the Auckland DPAS in the early to mid-20th century, was Reverend George Moreton. Reverend George was a chaplain at Mount Eden Prison, who went on to become the secretary of the Auckland DPAS. He would be a key figure in the space of penal reform within Auckland. Articles featuring his work and opinions would circulate in newspapers and would result in a tense relationship with the Department of Justice.
Reverend George Edgar Moreton was born on June 7, 1878, in Mornington, Dunedin. Like many people at the time, Rev. George’s parents struggled financially. Although the family lacked sufficient funds, Rev. George described his childhood as happy, warm and delightful. At the age of fourteen he went on to work at a mercantile farm, where he earned six shillings a week.
Photograph of Reverend George Moreton taken in 1942. Alexander Turnbull Library, Eph-B-Justice-1940/1959.
Throughout his youth Rev. George was involved in various community organisations that linked faith with social action. This included the Brotherhood of St Andrew, the Dunedin YMCA, and he became a diocesan lay reader in the Anglican church. In 1902, Rev. George was placed in Caversham Industrial School for boys to provide religious education. Rev. George noted that when “I walked into my first prison as chaplain I thanked God for that early experience, because that prison was nothing more than a large Caversham.” His experiences working for the City Mission in Dunedin and as a teacher at Caversham, inspired much of his work in Mount Eden Prison and gave him the necessary skills to work in prisons.
In December 1929, Rev. George stood outside Mount Eden Prison, after taking on a new position as Assistant City Missioner and Prison Chaplain. Taking on a new position during the Great Depression meant that he was surrounded by hardship and difficulties. Rev. George described the grim conditions which he encountered each day, where he walked “from the City Mission with its crowds of poor souls begging relief into the dreary round of prison life.” By 1931 Rev. George felt that his work as Prison Chaplain was not productive and turned to the Auckland DPAS to fulfil his need to do more.
Photograph of rooftops in Severn Road on the left and Boston Road in the centre towards Mount Eden Prison taken c. 1920. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1285-10008.
Throughout his time as secretary of the Auckland DPAS he continued to be surrounded by suffering and despair, with the days marked by “hunger, nakedness, poverty and tragedy.” Although Rev. George was surrounded by this darkness, he continued to strive to provide light for inmates. In 1930, the Evening Star reported on the brightness and light inside Mount Eden Prison because of Rev. George. Rev. George cultivated an expansive library, encouraged inmates to study, provided writing tools, and sought to create prison cells that would aid in the rehabilitation of inmates. The good deeds of Rev. George continued to be highlighted by newspapers and endorsed by the government, until his views started to conflict with the government. It is also important to note that his wife also played a part in helping prisoners, handing out blankets and clothes on Tuesday afternoons.
In 1948 Rev. George publicly criticised Mount Eden Prison as being “like a human zoo” where men are kept locked up like animals, in deplorable conditions. In 1948 he presented a report in London at an international conference on mental health. In the report, Rev. George stated that inmates were “victims of a system which forever punished without reform.” He noted that inmates were fed a diet that lacked nutrition, kept isolated for 17 hours a day, unable to further their education, and were subjected to harsh punishments.
His public critiques of Mount Eden Prison incited the wrath of government officials, who wanted to silence public knowledge of the conditions. The Minister of Justice, Rex Mason, called out Rev. George’s public critiques, stating that “it is grotesque nonsense for him to suggest that evil administration is concealed” and that reports of the prison system indicated no unlawful or harsh treatment. Rev. George’s public critiques eventually cost him his job as Prison Chaplain and eventually his position in the Auckland DPAS. This highlighted the need for a more government-friendly approach for penal reform to work.
Rev. George retired from penal reform work in 1952. By then the Department of Justice was acknowledging the important work of the society in aiding prisoners and their families, however, it prompted questions over whether the Department should have closer connections to the DPAS. As now will be shown, this generated a new wave of penal reform movements.
The Beginning of PARS
Following the shakeup after World War II and the loss of Rev. George the Auckland DPAS entered a new era. With changes in government the Auckland DPAS stood on the brink of a new form of penal reform. This new era was characterised by the Auckland DPAS becoming a part of a larger national body and establishing a closer relationship with the government. Politics and government influence would play a role in shaping penal reform.
As the political landscape shifted, the Department of Justice made it known that they would prefer to deal with one centralised organisation, rather than regional organisations. On May 26, 1956, a meeting was held in Wellington to discuss the logistics of creating a centralised organisation. From this meeting a New Zealand Federation of Prisoners’ Aid Societies was established. In 1957 a constitution was finalised at a meeting with representatives from prisoners’ aid societies and members of the Department of Justice. At this meeting in 1957, Jack Davies became the first national president. The new constitution stated that a general committee would consist of elected officers, delegates from each member organisation and would meet once a year.
Photo taken by author. PARS headquarters in New Zealand, Newsletter of the NZ Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society, volume 10, 1971, E365.805.
These changes resulted in a closer relationship between the government and local penal reform movements. In 1958 a meeting was held to incorporate the Federation, and in 1959 the incorporation had been granted under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. From this point the New Zealand Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society (PARS) was born. PARS marked a considerable change in the focus of penal reform and what organisations should strive to achieve. PARS was built on the idea of a voluntary, caring perspective, and an emphasis on commitment, hospitality and non-political bias. Unlike the societies before it, PARS would enjoy a healthy funding relationship with the Department of Justice and was able to complete more work in the space of penal reform.
Rehabilitation and Prison Reform
Alongside this growing relationship with the Department of Justice, the 1960s saw a greater emphasis placed on community-based sentencing. This directly aligned with the goals and directions of PARS. Previously little attention was placed on supervision, social work ethics, efficient management or training. However, with changes in the 1960s and 1970s, PARS started investing more in training and rehabilitation programmes. Furthermore, there was a growing awareness of the disproportionate number of Maori inmates in prisons, particularly in Mount Eden Prison.
In a NZPARS newsletter published in 1971, the organisation notes that it is their goal to “have a group of volunteers throughout the country who, in cooperation with the Department of Justice, will ensure that men…in prison will emerge from the institution better equipped to take their place.” To accurately provide services to inmates and their families training was needed for the volunteers. In 1964, a seminar was held on “social work with offenders”. In subsequent years, seminar topics would include; “meeting the Māori”, “visiting, counselling and interview in prison and in the family” and “understanding the Māori inmate.”
In 1974 a newsletter published by PARS, noted that PARS Officers visited inmates at Mount Eden Prison, to discuss life beyond the prison. Often these interviews with inmates involved discussing their families, explaining social welfare, figuring out logistics such as the feeding of pets, collecting pay, and the reality of leaving prison. Continuing much of the early work completed by Rev. George and other individuals, PARS maintained a strong understanding that life beyond prison was an essential element of rehabilitation for inmates. Providing inmates with securing housing, employment and support after prison would remain a key feature of prison reform movements into the 21st century.
Contrary to the penal reform movements that came before them, in the latter half of the 20th century, PARS focused more on the disproportionate number of Māori inmates. The Auckland branch responded to this by intermittently seeking Māori representation among staff and volunteers. In 1986 Te Roopu o Taha Māori was formed to promote Māori issues and perspectives within the organisation. However, Te Roopu would prove to be decisive, and caused much tension within PARS. In 1991 the formation of a Māori Sub-Committee proved to be a more productive approach, but debates continued around the ability for PARS to provide culturally appropriate services for Māori inmates and if it was upholding its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Many of these issues would continue to be prominent well into the future.
The Eden Echo was a newspaper published by inmates in Mount Eden Prison in 1964 and 1965. In the first edition of the Eden Echo, an article was written about a Māori Culture Group that resided within the Prison. The purpose of the Māori Culture Group was to prevent Māori inmates from losing their sense of identity and preserve their Maoritanga. Efforts to connect Māori inmates with their history and heritage would be a recurring theme found in penal reform movements stretching into the 21st century. This connection between colonisation, a loss of cultural identity and incarceration would be a recurring theme for penal movements in the 21st century.
Whilst the political landscape and organisational structures have changed, the basis for much of the penal reform movement seen in the 21st century, can be traced back to the changes that occurred in the 20th century. What this means for new and emerging movements is discussed in the next article.
Bibliography
“Auckland Prison,” Te Awamutu Courier, 27 February, 1948. Papers Past.
Harcourt, Melville. A Parson in Prison: A Biography of Rev. George Edgar Moreton. Auckland: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1942.
Limpus, W. “PARS in action.” Official journal of the New Zealand prisoners’ aid and rehabilitation society, 18 (1974): 4 – 6.
“Maori Culture Group,” Eden Echo, 1964, Auckland War Memorial Museum, HV8301EDE.
McGurk, Tina. Prisoners Aid – 100 years: A History of the New Zealand Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society to 1988. Wellington: The New Zealand Discharged Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society, 1989.
“Mount Eden Prison: A Visit of Inspection,” Evening Star, 15 July, 1930. Papers Past.
New Zealand Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society. NZPARS Papers. 1964 – 1973 Report. Wellington: New Zealand Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society, 1973.
“Prison System in New Zealand,” Ashburton Guardian, 11 September, 1948. Papers Past.
“Severe criticism of prison system”, Northern Advocate, 8 September, 1948. Papers Past.
Tennant, Margaret. Through the Prison Gate: 125 Years of Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation. Wellington: The New Zealand Discharged Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society, 2002.
Wilson, Allan. “Prisoner visitors’ seminar.” Official journal of the New Zealand prisoners’ aid and rehabilitation society, 7 (1971).