A GAOLER'S LIFE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2465, 1 April 1909, Page 2

A GAOLER'S LIFE.

AN INTERESTING CAREER. The public generally take their fixed opinion of a prison from the exterior of its grim walls. In popular imagination the guardians of the prison, are a human counter-part of their stern environment and they are pictured as rigorous servants carrying out the punishment the law demands. This grim view hardly does justice to the good qualities of the gaol official • ; A gaoler does not. come much before the public. At the various Supreme Court sessions might have been noticed, •amongst the police officers, an old gentleman whose kindly face stood out in human contrast over an official dank uniform. The wearer, of the uniform played .a-quiet and unassuming part in the proceedings. The; uniform signified the official costume of .a head gaoleri In ordinary every-day attire the: wearer would have been taken for-a quiet and thoughtful citizen .well worth Knowing. Unfortunately it is in this capacity that Mr Michael Flannery, the officer under review, will in future have to be known as after 47 years of faithful service lie has reached the age limit which is; for the future to terminate the official career of a-civil servant of the: New Zealand Government. ; 'V \ j . HIS VARIOUS POSTS/ j

Mr Flannery,' who has the reputation of being one of the most.humane gaolers in the Dominion, has; had a; unique career .'in the guardianship of the :crirninal class. He is; a native of. Sligo, Ireland, , and landed in New Zealand at Port Chalmers in 1862. He obtained employment for a-few months in a store ; in Dunedin, but in the first year of his arrival joined ;the prison service. He was appointed a warder at the Dunedin prison under the head gaoler, .Mr Stoddart. About two years and eight months later he was promoted .to i the position of sergeant-warder, a position equivalent to that of a present chief warder.- He remained in Dunedin xintil 1884, when he was transferred to Auckland with the rank of chief warder. In 1897 Mr Flannery was.promoted to the position of gaoler in charge of the Hokitika- prison and- heremained there until 1900, when he came to Napier in the same- capacity. For- the past nine years Mr Flannery ..hasicarried; out his difficult duties with a degree of tact and thoroughness' that has won the- admit ation of all who have had the opportunity of judging of the sterling- quality of his ' VOlk ‘ BUSHRANGING DAYS. In the early days the New Zealand criminal was of a more desperate type than the - class that now find themselves in durance vile. This may be a .sign of. our colonial evolution, but' the reason of the evolving of a better class of criminal is due to the supply of the old convict-stained material being cut on. When Mr Flannery joined the prison service a number of the Botany Bay exconvicts made their way to New Zea--land. ;In the Dunedin gaol lie found such desperadoes as Garrett, Kelly, .Burgess and Lawlor. These reck.ess outlaws had attempted to introduce Australian bushranging methods m Otago and sonie of them had ‘‘stuck up peaceable homesteads of Maungatua and Tuapeka. Subsequently they introduced murder into their category of crime, and for this outrage some of the gang were hanged on the West Coast. In dealing with such men a warder required courage and tact. In the early days also the gaols were insecure. THE NOTORIOUS BUTLER.

A criminal of a different typo with whom Mr Flannery was brought .closely in . touch was the notorious Butler, who perpetrated the Cumberland street tragedy in Dunedin. This plausible scoundrel had some of the attributes of a human fiend and was • never ’to be trusted, although he, could play the affable and docile prisoner when the occasion warranted. - A DASH FOR LIBERTY.

Mr-Flannery-relates one exciting incident during his life in Dunedin. T-.o gaol contained a prisoner named Healey, undergoing a long sentence for burning the Corn Hall in Auckland and attempting to murder Mr Thomas Russell.- Healey was with a gang under the charge of Warder Miller. At an opportune moment the prisoner ‘grappled with the warder and - attempted to seize, his rifle. Finding himself outclassed in the struggle he took to his heels and ran.; He made over the ground where the First Church now stands and leapt a huge bank. Warder Miiier gave cnase and called on the convict to stop/ Healey paid no heed to the warning and was making his way down Moray Place when .Warder Miller fired. The shot missed, as it was intended to do, and Healey continued his dash_ for liberty. Warder Miller fired again with the same effect. Healey continued to run but courted danger too long. Warder Miller fired for the third time, and shot the prisoner dead. At the coroner’s inquest'the jury returned a verdict upholding the action of Warder Miller in carrying out what was his unfortunate duty. Z h.'.'.y,: ; , SCENES AT THE GALLOWS. There is one side .of a gaoler’s life that ploys with appalling force on the heart-strings. Few care to witness the final penalty which the law demands, but it has fallen to Mr Flannery’s lot to be the official spectator of some notable tragedies at the gallows. The scenes have considerably impressed him, although the stern,', voice of duty has forced " him to repress his human, feeling. The. first execution that he witnessedwas that of Captain Jarvey, who was hanged in Dunedin for wife-poison-ing. While in the southern city Mr Flannery ; was also called to play an: official part in the execution , of a man named Jones, convicted of a murder atTuapeka, and : also of a Chinaman found guilty of murdering an old .lady at Naseby. In Auckland he saw the perpetrators of the Great Barrier , murder, John- Caff ray. and Henry Albert Penn, walk the scaffolds to their final doom. This .was one of the most romantic crimes ever committed in'New Zealand, and the chase of the mysterious Sovereign of the Seas will be vividly remembered. Mr.Flannery, speaks im- warm terms of tlie courageous manner - in which Caffray and Penn faced their death. Penn particularly pleasant personality, and both men expressed their gratitude for the: kindness that was extended to, them during their clos.ing hours.- , :

POETIC PRISONER.

One day in prison is very, like another. The Stern routine repels levity but here and there flashes of-humor come to the surface. Mr Flannery’ tells of one prisoner, waiting trial who employed his time writing poetry to the most humorous effect; He. headed one of his effusions “The' Steeplechase andin racing parlance poetically pictiuecl his-trial with the crown prosecutor as “starter” and the gao.er as c;erk ol fc S nEH OFFEXnERS WT. 71/1 --../y --a>

been brought into closer.-touch with the working of the First Offenders’ Probation Act than Mr Flannery. In this district he has had to deal with,a large number of people under’"probation, and he states that there are very few defaulters. Occasionally they may not be able to make payments when stipulated, but their circumstances are always considered'and they are allowed time. Mr Flannery, it is satisfactory to know, speaks in warm terms ol' the Act, which, he says, serves a most useful purpose. : ; .w, ‘ SECRET OF SUCCESS. V

Mr Flannery owes liis success as a gaoler to the methods he lias adopted. He looks upon the convicts under his charge as a part of the. great human family who require handling with tact. However great a criminal a man has been, it has always been Mr Flannery’s endeavor never to further degrade him, but. to endeavor to direct his life into a useful, channel if the opportunity offered. In this connection he holds many letters of gratitude from ex-pri-sohers who have been 'under his'charge. Mr Flannery will remain m charge of the. Napier gaol until the end of the present month, when ho-will retire to reside in Wellington.—Napier Telegraph.’’;.; ■; - yT) J '