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Containment of “wayward” females: The buildings of Abbotsford Convent, Victoria
Author(s) -
Kay Edwina
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
archaeology in oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1834-4453
pISSN - 0728-4896
DOI - 10.1002/arco.5077
Subject(s) - extant taxon , institutionalisation , institution , history , archaeology , sociology , social science , political science , law , evolutionary biology , biology
The built fabric of institutions plays a fundamental role in both the process and the experience of institutionalisation. This crucial role of the physical fabric makes the buildings and landscape of institutions a rich source of evidence for historical archaeologists, with the potential to provide important insights into the development of institutions and their complex role in society. This paper examines aspects of the built fabric of the largest and longest‐operating Magdalen asylum in Australia, at Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne, to investigate the evolution of this complex site in the second half of the nineteenth century. Magdalen asylums were institutions that attempted to reform “wayward” and vulnerable women and girls. Although they accommodated thousands of women and girls in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, their role and significance in Australia has not been extensively investigated. In this study, the extant buildings and grounds of Abbotsford Convent, as well as historical maps, photographs and written descriptions, provide evidence of the evolution of this institution over time.