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The Secretary of State for the Colonies ivory carriage pass…
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Sydney
Date:
10-Nov-2008
Lot No.
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Description:
The Secretary of State for the Colonies ivory carriage pass issued by the Metropolitan Police, Circa 1869-1880, of oval form with central hole engraved 'Metropolitan Police / Carriage Pass / The Secretary of State for the Colonies / E.Y.W. Henderson / Chief Commissioner', 7.5 cm wide, 5 cm high. Note: Sir Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson (1821-1896) was an officer in the British Army who was Comptroller General of Convicts in Western Australia from 1850-1863, Home Office Surveyor-General of Prisons from 1863-1869 and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, head of the London Metropolitan Police from 1869-1886. Australian Connection: In 1849, Henderson was appointed, by Earl Grey, to the post of Comptroller General of the Convicts in Western Australia and he arrived on 1 June 1850 on board the Scindian. He found the colony completely unprepared for the convicts, lacking even a gaol large enough to house them. Henderson secured lodging for the convicts, then began construction of the Convict Establishment, later known as Fremantle Prison which was completed in 1855. He was, for the period and his post, a very compassionate and forward thinking man. He reduced corporal punishment to a bare minimum, introduced a library, educational classes and lectures into Australian prisons and as a result was considered the Father of Modern Prisons in Australia. During his time in the colony he designed a number of public buildings for the Western Australian government including, Government House, Perth and The Asylum for the Criminally Insane, now the Fremantle Arts Museum. In 1848 he married Mary Murphy and following her death in 1855 he visited England with his son. Whilst there he gave evidence on the abolition of transportation to a select committee of the House of Lords and advocated a system of marks, a scheme proposed by his energetic superintendent, Thomas Dixon. The system, based on industry and education, enabled prisoners to earn recommendation for tickets-of-leave by accumulating marks, but Henderson was distressed when he learned that Dixon had been summarily dismissed for fraudulent insolvency. During his two years back in England he also married Maria Hindle and returned with her to Australia in 1858. He finally resigned as Comptroller-General of Convicts and left the colony in January 1863. On his return to Britain, he was appointed Chairman of Directors and Surveyor-General of Prisons and Inspector-General of Military Prisons on 29 July 1863, succeeding Sir Joshua Jebb. He sold his army commission in 1864 and was made a Companion of the Bath in 1868. In 1869 he succeeded Sir Richard Mayne a Chief Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, resigning on the 8 February 1886 immediately after the Trafalgar Square Riot. He was also an artist of some merit, in fact a watercolour by him entitled 'The Knole, Fremantle, Western Australian 1862 1862' sold at Sotheby's as lot 129 on 26 August this year for $46,000.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Unclassified