Captured: Portraits of Crime 1870-1930, William Plummer
William Plummer, a 66 year old whitesmith (metal worker) originally from England, was photographed at Parramatta Gaol on 26 March 1884 while serving a sentence of four years hard labour for burglary.
The half blind, elderly man with flagellation scars and arms tattooed with initials had spent the previous five decades in and out of gaol...arrived in NSW in 1835 on board the convict ship, Marquis of Huntley. He had been sentenced to fourteen years transportation for stealing lead.
Past exhibition
Captured: Portraits of Crime, 1870 – 1930
Explore the stories of men, women and children who were incarcerated in NSW gaols from 1870 to 1930. The touring exhibition engages with photographic portraits and descriptions of prisoners sourced from the State Archives Collection of Gaol Photographic Description Books.
Saturday 1 April
Archives behind the scenes - gaol photos
In this episode we show you the very popular Gaol Photo Description Books. The photos (or mugshots) of prisoners are from gaols right across NSW and date from 1870-1930
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