Containment of “wayward” females

The buildings of Abbotsford Convent, Victoria

Bibliographic Data

ID6038353
AuthorsEdwina Kay (La Trobe University, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume50
Issue3
Pages153-161
Publication date2015-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0728-4896 • E-ISSN: 1834-4453
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/arco.5077
OpenAlexW1897555150
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited13

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

Archaeology · Extant taxon · Institution · Institutionalisation · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Law

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