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Archiver > GENBRIT > 1999-12 > 0944307134


From: "Sue Channell" <>
Subject: Re: 1901 census: I don't want to alarm you but...
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 21:32:14 +1000


Very well spoken Lenore!!!!

Sue Channell
Brisbane Aus
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lenore Frost" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 1999 4:49 PM
Subject: Re: 1901 census: I don't want to alarm you but...


> Hello folks,
>
> All right, I'm game to be the bleeding heart on this one. I've had a tiny
bit
> of experience with long-term unemployed youth on training schemes, and
also with
> Community Service workers.
>
> The long-term unemployed youth, who were put into teams and given the task
of
> organising some sort of *historical* output were by far the worse of the
two
> groups. Their lack of interest and motivation, and actual ability to do
any
> sustained task had to be seen to be believed, and I've sworn off any
involvement
> with them for life. (I had contact through my historical society, we were
> expected to assist them with their project - a huge waste of our time and
> resources.)
>
> The Community Service workers were those who would have done prison time
for
> their crimes but for the availability of Community Service. I got to know
a bit
> about them through my childrens' Scout Group, where we employed them to do
> general cleaning up work. Some of them were extremely good value. The
> Embezzler, for instance, (a former Accountant) was an extremely nice chap,
and
> did a lot of work for us, cleaning windows, and painting. The Tax Fraud,
an
> engineer in his spare time, fixed up a big sliding gate that we couldn't
get to
> work, and dug up a complete blocked sewerage pipe from the toilet to the
> fenceline (about sixty feet), up to his knees in sewerage, without a word
of
> complaint, and went off afterwards in his Mercedes. The Car Thief got our
> clapped out mower to go, and a number of others put in some good time in
> cleaning up the yard, cutting down the trees, painting, etc. Some of them
were
> extremely useless, and occasionally destructive (like the one who was set
to
> paint the inside of the outside toilet - and painted everything, including
the
> black plastic toilet seat - or did he seriously think it looked better in
> peach?)
>
> Unless the plan is to force prisoners to do the data entry, I wouldn't
think
> the totally useless ones, with no computer experience at all, would stick
their
> hand up to do the job. Boredom is one of the most terrible punishments in
gaol,
> and I think that doing something useful and a bit more interesting than
cleaning
> the toilets might bring forth the brighter and more motivated amongst
them, and
> do them a bit of good.
>
> The best cricket mats my cricket team ever had came from Pentridge Prison,
and
> we were very put out when the weaver finished his time, but I'll bet he
went out
> a better citizen, with some self-respect in his achievements in prison.
The
> convicts you sent out to us in past times turned out in many cases to be
very
> good citizens indeed, (these are my ancestors after all), and I'd like to
see
> the present ones given a bit of a go.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Lenore Frost
> Hot, hot, hot in Melbourne
>
>

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