Mary HUTCHINSON

HUTCHINSON, MARY (b. Parramatta, NSW, 23 Oct 1810; d. Hobart, Tas, 19 Feb 1880). Methodist, Female Factory matron.

Francis Oakes, formerly a missionary to Tahiti, became superintendent of Parramatta Female Factory in 1814. Francis and Rebecca Oakes had fourteen children including Mary. Living beside the factory allowed Mary to observe the deplorable conditions endured by female convicts.

In 1826 Mary Oakes married John Hutchinson; a month later they sailed to Tonga to establish a Methodist mission. Several years were spent under hazardous conditions there. The opposition of the chief, combined with John Hutchinson's ill health, made it imperative for the couple to return to Sydney.

Mary was appointed matron and John Hutchinson superintendent of the Female House of Correction in Hobart in 1832; both were critical of the corrective system. Partly through the imbalance of the sexes, many female convicts were pregnant on arrival in VDL so the factory virtually doubled as a maternity hospital. Its high infant mortality was reflected in Mary Hutchinson's own family; only six of her twelve children survived. Lack of citrus fruit, government niggardliness, little sunlight, damp conditions, overcrowding and the practice of weaning and separating babies from their mothers at an early age aggravated appalling conditions; Mary Hutchinson provided wetnurses when available.

Mary Hutchinson was unable to achieve her goal of separating women into smaller groups. 'Correction' was expected through strict discipline and punishment. Dismal solitary confinement was the dreaded punishment which hardened rather than reformed women. John and Mary Hutchinson endeavoured to convey their own understanding of God's provision and forgiveness; some few inmates responded. Contemporary press criticised Mary Hutchinson but strict regulations governed her role; she ran the factory efficiently, maintaining cleanliness and discipline. In 1851 when ill-health forced John Hutchinson's resignation, Mary was appointed matron-in-charge of the Launceston factory, retiring in 1854.

L Heath, 'The Female convict Factories of NSW and van Diemen's Land: An Examination of Their Role in the Control, Punishment and Reformation of Prisoners between 1804 and 1854.’ (MA thesis ANU, 1978); R C Hutchinson, 'Mrs Hutchinson and the Female Factories of Early Australia' Tasmanian Historical Research Association (9 May 1962); T Rayner, 'The Female Factory at Cascades Hobart', National Parks etc Wildlife Service Tasmania, Occasional Paper No 3 (1981)

MARGARET YARWOOD LAMB