Youth Justice Court - Colonial Times

Colonial Times

The treatment of juvenile offenders in the colonies of Australia, e.g. New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, Victoria and Queensland reflected the system of criminal law inherited from England. There was nothing unusual in that as the law of Australia at that time was heavily influenced by the social norms of English society.

As a result, children criminals were treated no differently than adult criminals. They were liable to the same harsh penalties. The Judicial Commission of New South Wales cites an example of one English judge who, after condemning a 10 year old boy to death, described the boy as “a proper subject for capital punishment”. The commission also noted that on one day in 1815, five children aged between eight and 12 years were hanged for petty larceny in England. Children's court began to be set up in Australia in the early 1900s. The Judicial Commission of New South Wales states the first court in New South Wales was set up in the spirit of parens patriae, a jurisdiction that was exercised by the superior courts of the United Kingdom and, as a consequence, of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Children's courts were set up in light of the widespread poverty and child neglect at that time. The courts had to assume the role of parent, protector and ultimate punisher.