My previous research and blog on my ancestor, Mary Brien, had made me very curious about her mental health as her behaviour just seemed to reveal traces of depression, trauma and even bi-polar.
As I began my research into my chosen topic, having no idea whether I'd get anywhere close to assignment material, a fascinating insight into female convict mental health unfolded. Hysteria, as it was then called, was pretty rife, as you would indeed expect in such traumatic circumstances these women found themselves in.
This essay discusses health risks of female
convicts transported to Van Diemen’s Land between 1822 and 1853. The key aspect
presented is that of mental health. Mental illness even today can be difficult
to diagnose and quantify. The circumstances such as these convict women found
themselves in, such as desperate social and economic conditions, imprisonment,
exile and forced separation from their children, must have been fertile ground
for anxiety, depression, trauma and to use an outdated term, a nervous
breakdown.
An example of a typical convict was Mary
Brien. Mary arrived in VDL on the Blackfriar in 1851, age 30, with her
ten-year-old daughter. She was reported as being troublesome in the Irish
prison but quiet on the voyage out. [i]
Upon arrival her daughter was taken to the Orphanage, mother and daughter
separated.[ii]
Mary is not mentioned by John Moody, the
Surgeon Superintendent on the Blackfriar, so she obviously suffered no illness
severe enough to be hospitalized or logged. Nevertheless, Mary’s subsequent
life in the colony was not particularly trouble-free.
When Mary’s postings began, the first
lasted less than two weeks. Mary was then shunted between Brickfields Hiring
depot and the House of Correction five times until her second hiring a year
later. It seems Mary’s first year didn’t go so smoothly. Examination of Mary’s
record reveals a pattern. Each year for the next six years, she had short
stints of hiring followed by more time at Brickfields, two court appearances
and even more time at the House of Correction.[iii]
Clearly, she was a difficult one. Mary was continually reprimanded, namely, for
insolence, misconduct and neglect of duty. It seems Mary had an attitude
problem. Was Mary just a fiery Irish woman, or did her mental and emotional
issues run deeper?
Evidence of convict women’s mental states
after transportation is scant, and Mary’s mental state is speculation only,
however evidence is prevalent as to the mental health of women such as Mary on
the long voyage out. John Moody commented that it was not an easy thing to
assess the physical and mental states of so many who have come to him from the
confines of a difficult prison situation. With so many temperaments to manage,
making on the spot diagnosis of mental health would have been impossible. It
didn’t take too long before John Moody had a mental heath issue to deal with
though. The night before sailing, John describes treating Catherine Walsh, a
Lunatic who was lucid upon embarkation. As it was too late to disembark her,
the poor girl was strait jacketed. Again, after two months at sea, he describes
Anne Torpey, a ‘stout girl of nervous
temperament’, one night jumping out of bed screaming and running about in a
frantic state. She was hospitalized for several days.[iv]
Surgeons reports give fascinating insight into the voyage out. blogs.ancestry.com.au
The terminology used at the time, was
Hysteria. By the 1800’s Hysteria was being seen by professionals as less of a
disease of the uterus or demon possession, and more correctly as a mental
condition. Symptoms described by these surgeons were seizure like paroxysms,
fainting, irrational behavior and unresponsive and hyper responsive conditions,
symptoms that would now be recognized as depression in all its forms, traumatic
stress and anxiety.[v]
Indeed, on closer examination of Surgeon’s
reports from female transportation ships, Hysteria pops up regularly. It had to
be quite disruptive and severe to make a Hospital admission. Of these reports,
some are brief and to the point, while others are extremely detailed and give
fascinating insight to day to day life on board. Some Surgeons comment
predominantly on weather, while others, conditions of cleanliness and routines
of the women. Frequently Hysteria is listed on the summary only and some
surgeons make mention of its prevalence only in their remarks written at the
end of the voyage. Hence, cases of Hysteria were possibly far more common than
is reported, as many needed no treatment.
Surgeon Superintendent Charles Smith gives
an insight into the psychological state of the Irish females in his charge. The
Duke of Cornwall sailed in July 1850, immediately preceding the Blackfriar.
Charles had a huge caseload of twenty-six cases of Hysteria to deal with. His
opening remarks stated that the Irish were a highly susceptible race and that
the women ‘suffered much from Grief and
depression of Spirits at leaving their friends and native Country’. He
states many of the women were not put on the sick list as their paroxysms were
of short duration and their general health was good. He describes varied
symptoms such as loss of power of speech, paralysis and ‘extravagant hallucinations’.[vi]
In 1849 John Moody, then surgeon on the
Lord Auckland, also refers to the spirits of the women on board. He treats them
with ‘kindness, at the same time with firmness’ to restore their spirits,
noting its no easy matter where Irish convicts are concerned.[vii]
Surgeon A.F. Macleroy (Phoebe 1845) reports of seasickness, ‘accompanied as usual in females with Syncope
<[fainting]> & Hysteria in various degrees & shapes, many cases
being very troublesome tho’ not placed on the Sick List.’[viii]
Surgeon James Clarke’s (Greenlaw 1844) general remarks comment almost entirely
on food and diet, but he does generalize about the extreme mental depression of
women on his Sick List and how this is generally the case amongst the lower and
ignorant Irish class.[ix]
Signs and symptoms of mental suffering are
also scattered throughout the English female ships, even with several suicide
attempts mentioned.[x]
Most Surgeons report they handle their cases successfully with treatments
ranging from ‘constant employment’ to shaving the head and cold-water ablutions,
blood-letting, enemas and various dosages of substances such as Submuriate of
Mercury, aloetic pills and Laudanum.
Surgeon Superintendent James Hall on 4 ships 1820-1833, Aust Convict & Convict Ships Board, pintrest
Examination of sixty-four Surgeons reports
of both Irish and English female ships which landed in VDL, twenty-nine made
mention of one or more cases of Hysteria, an indication of the mental and
emotional stress of women undertaking a voyage with incredible risks and
uncertainties.[xi] Given
the series of traumatic events these women endured, it would be highly likely
that many of them would indeed have their mental health severely compromised. Likewise,
the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder would be a high possibility, hence
affecting their ability to reintegrate successfully with an extremely high
probability of developing alcohol dependence.[xii]
Mary Brien gained her freedom and married
George Gray in 1859. [xiii] Whether married life settled her, is also
unknown, but in 1875 Mary Brien-ex-Gray, died a pauper in a residence on the
corner of Molle and Golbourn Streets in Hobart.[xiv]
To conclude, that Mary Breen suffered from
any ill mental health is pure conjecture. She had times of compliance and times
of turbulence. Why was she a difficult
woman? Perhaps she suffered from mental illness and was damaged by a system
which intended to force conformity, limit personal freedom and ‘reform’ the
wild ones, but had little understanding of emotional and mental suffering,
treatment and subsequent personal and societal cost.
convict love token sydneylivingmuseum.com.au
[ii]
www.orphaneschool.org.au/show orphan accessed8 June 2018
[iii]
Female convicts in VDL database, Female Convicts Research Centre Accessed 16
June 2018
[iv]
www.femaleconvicts.org.au/convict-ships/convict-ship-records
[v]
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480686/
Women and Hysteria in the History of Mental Health accessed 1 Aug 2018
[vi]
www.femaleconvicts.org.au/convict-ships/convict-ship-records
[vii]
www.femaleconvicts.org.au/convict-ships/convict-ship-records
[viii]
www.femaleconvicts.org.au/convict-ships/convict-ship-records
[ix]
www.femaleconvicts.org.au/convict-ships/convict-ship-records
[x]
www.femaleconvicts.org.au/convict-ships/convict-ship-records,
Emma Eugenia1846, East London1843, Mary Ann 1822, Tasmania 1844
[xi]
www.femaleconvicts.org.au/convict-ships/convict-ship-records
[xii] www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptoms-of-ptsd
accessed 9 September 2018
[xiii]librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au
[xiv] "Australia, Tasmania, Miscellaneous Records,
1829-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (Cemetery
records > Burials and cremations, Cornelian Bay Cemetery > Feb 1875-Jul
1876, AF70/1/2 no 699-1186 > image 101 of 510; Tasmanian Archives and
Heritage Office, Hobart. Accessed 20 July 2018
