Analysis of dried plants from a colonial institution in 19th-century Australia reveals many foodstuffs that do not appear in official records were being eaten, potentially as an informal means to resist the monotony of life in the institution.
The work appears in the journal Antiquity.
Colonial institutions, ranging from schools to workhouses, were a key means to regulate both individuals and populations within the British Empire. In Australia, these institutions have played a defining role in the country’s history and still loom large in the popular imagination.
An important feature of these institutions was food. Meals regulated daily life and were a useful way to enforce authority and create hierarchies among the inmates.
Despite its importance, almost all knowledge of diet in institutions is based on the official institutional records and is difficult to verify archaeologically.
“Historical sources indicate that food in colonial institutions was bland and monotonous, enculturing immigrants in an idealized British diet of bread and meat,” states Dr. Kimberley Connor from Stanford University, author of the research. “However, the extent to which these sources reflect what people really ate is unclear.”
To tackle this, Dr. Connor analyzed desiccated plant remains found under the floors of The Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney—a colonial institution initially used as a convict barracks, then as a depot for unmarried women migrating to Australia, and later serving as an asylum for women unable to support themselves due to age, illness or disability. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices were found, including native Australian plants (such as macadamia nuts and a quandong) and those introduced from around the world (American corn cobs, Southeast Asian lychees, etc.)
The majority of these plants do not appear in official records, suggesting the inmates acquired these fresh foods independently on trips to church or periods of leave.
Importantly, some of these plants were too large to have simply fallen through the floorboards accidentally, indicating that the inmates intentionally placed them under the floor, perhaps to conceal their snacks from Hyde Park Barracks’ authorities.
This implies that the consumption of these foods was an illicit act that had to be kept secret. These small acts of rebellion may have been a way for the women to resist the totalizing discipline of the institution.
“A handful of peanuts, shared covertly in the dormitories, or an orange snuck in after church enabled women to hold onto the individual and the relational in an environment of uniformity,” says Dr. Connor.
It also highlights the value of archaeology in combination with textual sources and shows how it can reveal secrets that history alone cannot uncover.
“Remarkable preservation of desiccated plant remains at Hyde Park Barracks reveals not just the range of species available but a system of food acquisition and consumption that is almost completely absent from the historical record,” Dr. Connor concludes.
More information:
Eating in colonial institutions: desiccated plant remains from nineteenth-century Sydney, Antiquity (2025). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2024.215
Citation:
Dried plants 19th-century Australian colonial institution indicate secret, illicit snacking among residents (2025, January 21)
