After more than four years research and gathering data I'm delighted to announce my forthcoming publication's details below:
Unfit for publication: NSW Supreme Court and other Bestiality, Buggery & Sodomy trials 1727-1930 - a researchers' resource - consists of 3 A4 volumes covering approximately 2,200 pages. Four main components make up the publication:
• Supreme Court of NSW (criminal jurisdiction) depositions of approximately 260 relevant cases fully transcribed – verbatim – drawn from original State Records NSW (SRNSW and formerly called State Archives) manuscripts.
• Judges’ Notebooks pertaining to the above relevant cases. Transcribed – verbatim – and also drawn from original SRNSW manuscripts.
• Metropolitan and country newspaper coverage, transcribed verbatim, of the cases included, mentioned at 1 & 2 above. These documents are not part of SRNSW’s holdings.
• Unfit for publication has an extensive (± 300 page) Appendix. This consists of details drawn from the yearly 1862-1930 NSW Police Gazettes. The appendix is tabulated in an alphabetical database (offenders’ names, apprehension location and date, offence, sentence, etc) comprising about 2,500 offenders’ apprehensions. This includes arresting police officers, trial and (where appropriate) prisoner discharge details. The latter provides a host of (possible statistical) information, eg: birth country, year born, physical characteristics height, colour of hair and eyes, etc). The tabulated offences included are: bestiality, buggery, sodomy, indecent assault and exposure, absconding, lewdness, etc.
• The publication includes a chapter of extraterritorial cases. And contains the first documented case of sodomy (and punishment) on Australian soil in 1727 when the Dutch ship Zeewijk was shipwrecked off the WA coast.
• Garry Wotherspoon, gay historian, has written the foreword, he concludes "The scope of Peter’s work is inspiring and future historians will forever be indebted to his perseverance and many will say a grateful ‘thank you’ to him for his willingness and determination to complete this onerous task!"
• The publication has an extensive and detailed index, will be self-published and initially printed in a very limited (20 copies) print run. Unfit for publication costs $185 (to recover the cost of printing and binding) plus postage and packing.
For further details contact Peter de Waal, PO Box 6, Balmain NSW 2041 or email pdewaal@...
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