Public History Talk: Jared Davidson

‘Prison Labour and the Making of New Zealand’

Wednesday 4 October 2023, 12:10pm to 1pm

Taiwhanga Kauhau — Auditorium, (lower ground) National Library, Wellington. Entrance on Aitken Street.

Free entry, no need to register, unless watching online – if so, please follow this link: https://natlib.govt.nz/events/prison-labour-and-the-making-of-new-zealand-october-04-2023

In this month’s Public History Talk, Jared Davidson charts the hidden history of prison labour across New Zealand’s urban and rural landscapes and into the Pacific, as well the challenges of researching history from the bottom up.

Forced labour haunts the streets we walk today and the spaces we take for granted. From 1814 onwards, the unfree work of prisoners was used to forge roads, ports, buildings, harbour defences and other public works across New Zealand and its Pacific empire. Prisoners planted forests, cleared land and laboured on dairy farms. Their work was crucial to colonisation. Yet convict Australia and the myth of New Zealand exceptionalism has meant the history of prison labour has been largely overlooked.

These free Public History Talks are a collaboration between Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Alexander Turnbull Library.

Facebook event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1825459411202627