Set in the Tokai Forest at the foot of the Constantiaberg Mountains in Cape Town lie the ruins of the William Porter Reformatory. Constructed in 1890 the ruins of this reformatory constitute a testament to horrors and injustices that we can’t even begin to imagine despite the evidence still extant there in the form of graffiti and messages on the walls of the cells along with the Judas windows still evident in the dormitory and cell doors.
A full suite of images of the reformatory can be found on my Flickr site:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lance_gallery/albums/72157686985069334
Referred to here and there as Sir William Porter, the man whose bequest of £20,000 “for the establishment and maintenance, at the Cape, of one or more reformatories” way back in 1878 actually declined a Knighthood. His good intentions however, rather than being of help to anyone, actually caused pain and suffering of unimaginable measure to hundreds (if not thousands), of young boys who were incarcerated in this institution between 1890 and the late 1980’s when it fell into disuse.
Youngsters were crowded into this very harsh prison-like environment under the constant surveillance of warders, many of whom were unemployed or ex-convicts. Warders either played by the rules of domination and subordination of inmates or lost their jobs, and arbitrary brutality and violence was a regular feature of reformatory life.
The boys were let out of the dormitories at six o’clock in the morning and locked in again six at night. The scariest of all is that wardens removed all lights by 20h30. One doesn’t need a vivid imagination to know what took place in these deepest darkest nights of the soul when juveniles were most powerless and vulnerable. Homosexual rape initiated newcomers into the 'under-life’ of the reformatory while younger boys were soon drafted into service, sexual and otherwise, for older boys. Masturbation and homosexuality were common as was fagging, a common boarding-school phenomenon.
The culture of harsh discipline and violence was unendurable as is indicated by reports of mental derangement, self-inflicted injury and even suicide. Inmates used cover of darkness to establish a pecking order and plan escapes. Brutal treatment by both boys and warders often lead to attempted escape. One Peter Abrahams fled to avoid punishment when he stole some bread from the warders' mess room. Others bolted into the Tokai forest after repeated beatings. Escapees were often recaptured due to the reformatory’s isolation and harshly punished. Boys could expect fifteen cuts from the resident magistrate and a spell in isolation on a diet of bread and water.
The majority of the boys arrived at the reformatory Illiterate. What little schooling there was, was a travesty lasting about three hours a day……the boys being taught by the Superintendent and convict warders who were themselves illiterate.
During the planting and harvesting seasons all other activities, including schooling, were abandoned. Porter’s aim was to remain self-sufficient and this took precedence over its disciplinary function. It was felt that boys could be reformed of criminal and undisciplined habits by work (in other words free child-labour) and be “brought within the ranks of wage-earners and become a valuable asset to the Colony” - meaning as unskilled manual farm labourers. Industrial training, which involved tailoring, carpentry and blacksmithing was intended to teach boys “some useful handicraft by which they can earn their living after their release”.
This was a disaster as no consistent training was provided; only a handful of boys were employed for short periods in each activity. Industrial training meant that they made the uniforms for their fellow inmates and effected repairs to the reformatory buildings and equipment. Their training was directed by warders, themselves untrained and ill-equipped to teach.
Reformatory boys were also apprenticed as farm labourers. A contract of apprenticeship was signed by a 'Master’ stipulating the length of the apprenticeship, generally two years, which included instructing the apprentice in a calling or trade, providing for his education and religious instruction, clothing, lodging and food.
No records were kept of the boys either during or after their apprenticeship. No provision was made for inspection of their working conditions. John Graham, secretary of the Law Department, admitted in 1891 that some of the clauses, like those dealing with education and religious instruction, were unenforceable.
What is uncontestable is that reformatory boys did not relish the prospect of being apprenticed for almost half their sentence. It was not unusual for boys to abscond during their apprenticeship. The fact that the brutal and inhumane treatment in the reformatory was preferable to apprenticeship is an indication of the arduous working conditions on farms.
Racial segregations started happening in the early 1890’s. A Rev. Marchand who was appointed 'to apprise the Minister of matters affecting the moral control of the reformatory’ was approached by a delegation of boys. They complained that Head Warder Hartley was 'rough with them in hurrying them over the gravel in the morning’. They had no boots and the stones hurt their feet. The Superintendent was directed to equip all white boys with boots and socks, while the black kids received no such luxury.
John Graham recommended in 1892 that black and white juveniles should be segregated, both in the dormitories and in their education. A dormitory for white boys was completed at the end of 1892 and the Superintendent General of Education, Langham Dale, affirmed a particular direction for black education: White boys were channeled into industrial training and blacks into manual labour - 'gardening, milking, tending cows, working with horses ... and general farm labour'. White boys were also granted extra privileges. From 1893 they could remain in the dining room up to 8.00 pm (instead of being- locked up at 6.00 pm. as the black boys continued to be) where games such as draughts and dominoes were permitted. A small library of books was made available to them.
There is little information about the lives of boys once they left Porter. They were given 1-5 shillings (depending on their conduct inside), a suit of discharge clothing made at the reformatory and their fare to the railway station nearest to their ultimate destination.
(Thank you to Derek Smith - “Mr. Baggins” - for the majority of this copy which I found in his online journals).
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