VPRS 4845 Hobby Account Ledger

According to Annual Reports, handicrafts were an important activity at Fairlea Prison, both as 'therapeutic occupation' and a recreation activity. The main industry for prisoners in Fairlea was the laundry. Female prisoners were also employed in the prison kitchen, or doing general cleaning. For recreation, prisoners worked in hobby groups, such as sewing, knitting and needlework. The sale of items produced in hobby groups were recorded in the current series.This series is a ledger, recording payments in and out of what was known as the 'Hobby Account', a bank account into which proceeds from the sale of goods produced by prisoners were paid, and the costs of raw materials were withdrawn. It is also a record of the sort of goods made by female prisoners at Fairlea for recreational activity or occupational therapy.Entries in the ledger often describe the particular items sold. It shows that the main items produced by the women prisoners were scarves, socks, handkerchiefs, aprons, towels and soft toys.Occasionally the person or organisation purchasing the goods is recorded. Many of the entries on the Credits pages are attributed to the "WCTU": it would appear that the Women's Christian Temperance Union maintained strong links with the prisoners in Fairlea, organising sales of the women's products and donating the money back to the Hobby Account. Entries on the credits pages also reveal that the female prisoners entered their products into competitions at the Royal Show and received prize money. In the late 1960s, a number of art exhibitions were organised with the Herald and Weekly Times, and proceeds of sales were paid into the account.There are also a number of receipts floating loose within the volume. These are for the sale of plants, crafts or 'trash and treasure' to visitors to Fairlea. Goods were also sold at the annual Children's Christmas Party, and at a trash and treasure stall at Croydon Market.This series was previously registered as Hobby Account Register.