MACONOCHIE, Alexander (1787-1860)

prison reformer

was born in 1787. He entered the royal navy in 1803 and attained the rank of commander in 1815. He arrived in Tasmania on 6 January 1837 as private secretary to Sir John Franklin (q.v.). In October of that year he sent a report on convict discipline to England which was laid before parliament in April 1838, and in the same year published a volume at Hobart, Thoughts on Convict Management and other Subjects connected with the Australian Penal Colonies. He added a short Supplement in 1839, and the sheets were sent to England and published with a new title-page with the word Australiana prefixed to the title. In this volume he enunciated his views that all criminals should be punished for the past, and trained for the future in government employ. He so impressed the colonial office that in May 1839 it suggested that he should be offered the position of superintendent of Norfolk Island. Maconochie was willing to accept the position, but pointed out that he did not consider Norfolk Island suitable for a trial of his methods. Governor Gipps (q.v.) could, however, offer him nothing better. On 6 March 1840 Maconochie began his duties, and almost at once came in conflict with the governor, concerning the extent of his powers. There was much correspondence between Gipps and Maconochie and the colonial office, but in April 1843 Lord Stanley informed Gipps that Maconochie was to be relieved of his position, and that Captain Childs was on his way out to take his place. Maconochie returned to England and in 1846 published a pamphlet of 74 pages, Crime and Punishment. The Mark System. This gave an account of the system he had endeavoured to develop on Norfolk Island. He was appointed governor of Birmingham jail in October 1849, and held the position for two years. He published other pamphlets on his system and on emigration, and died at Morden, Surrey, England, on 25 October 1860. He married and left a widow and family.

Maconochie was a thoroughly earnest and sincere man in advance of his time. He believed that prisoners should be treated with humanity, that their education should be extended, and that many of them could be persuaded to live honest lives if given a fair opportunity. He would probably have been more successful at Norfolk Island if he could have been content to bring in his innovations gradually.

F. Boase, Modern English Biography; Historical Records of Australia, ser. I, vols. XIX to XXIII.