The 'Condemned Criminals': sexual violence, race, and manliness in colonial Australia

Abstract

In 1879, the New South Wales government took the unusual step of recommending the execution of three men-two white and one black-for two separate crimes of rape. The government's decision provoked outcry from capital punishment abolitionists who inundated the parliament and press with appeals for mercy, and held sensational public rallies decrying the use of the death penalty. Politicians' varied responses to the crimes show their preoccupations in ensuring ideals of colonial manliness and colonial honour remained intact no matter what the cost. This case offers an important example of the complex relationship between gender, race, sexuality and colonial politics.