The Cat

This battered cat o' nine tails bearing the signature of a hard line Minister of Justice shows the uncompromising approach to law and order taken by the Reform Government led by William Massey.

Alexander Herdman, whose signature on the shaft shows he authorised this weapon for use on 28 March 1913, was a leading figure in the Massey administration which used armed police to break the 1912 Waihi miners strike and enlisted teams of special constables, dubbed 'Massey's Cossacks', to help break the Wellington waterfront strike in 1913.

Herdman, who was described by a contemporary as ruthless and fearless in his pursuit of law and order, would have had no qualms about the rough justice which this cat was used for. It is not known where this particular weapon was used but it matches the description of those used in prisons. Its frayed and stained cords suggest that it may have flayed many backs.

Legal provisions for flogging in New Zealand prisons for a range of sexual or violent offences remained in place until 1941, but the last official flogging in New Zealand occurred in 1935. By this time conventional wisdom was moving away from corporal punishment for adults after mounting evidence that it was not an effective deterrent.