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Victoria University

The Port Phillip magistrates, 1835-1851

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Social histories of how people lived in the early years of the Australian colonies have generally underestimated the significance of the magistracy. This dissertation undertakes a detailed legal examination of a sample of the cases brought before the magistrates of the Port Phillip District, as Victoria was then known, in the 1830s and 1840s. Extant magisterial records demonstrate the crucial importance of these 'gentlemen', so styled, in enforcing collective norms of behaviour, stabilising an otherwise disorderly population in raw conditions, and thereby providing a bridge between English and colonial social structures.

Degree

thesis:*
Name dc:type.qualificationname
phd
Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
doctoral
Grantor dc:publisher.institution
Victoria University
Year dc:date.issued
2005

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Rangelov, James Theodore Ivan

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

Language dc:language
en

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Victoria University (Australia)
Base URL
vuir.vu.edu.au/cgi/oai2
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Rangelov, James Theodore Ivan. The Port Phillip magistrates, 1835-1851. doctoral thesis, Victoria University, 2005.