Feeding the Confined: A Faunal Analysis of Hyde Park Barracks

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of faunal analysis and historical research in order to understand the diet of the women who lived in the Immigration Depot (1848–1886) and the Destitute Asylum (1862–1886) at Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney, NSW. The faunal analysis included the examination of 5,436 specimens from the main building and trenches in the area of the kitchen. It focuses on three main areas: the variety of taxa in the assemblages, the distribution of taxa across the site, and the relative lack of Bos taurus bones. While many of the results supported the documentary record, such as the predominance of mutton consumed on the site, areas of dissonance are resolved through careful consideration of the two sources. This combination of archaeozoological and documentary evidence to argue that the diet was sufficient for sustaining life, but monotonous and poorly adapted to the needs of the women in the Destitute Asylum who lived there for long periods. This was not the result of a policy decision to punish or control the inmates, as may have been the case in other institutional settings, but rather the use of dietaries based on those designed for sailors and convicts. Institutions today continue to struggle with the same questions that were at the for in the 19th century – how can we feed people as cheaply as possible? Should the diet be part of the punishment or reform effort? Do people have a right to a basic quantity and quality of food? What role does nutrition play in the dietary? As well as adding to the growing literature on institutional diets and the archaeology of institutions in Australia, this study suggests that there are parallels between historical and modern institutional diets. The results show that a lack of official planning can damaging, even when punishment is not intended.