Alexander Maconochie ( penal reformer ) Alexander Maconochie ( 11 February 1787 – 25 October 1860 ) was a Scottish naval officer , geographer , and penal reformer . Early life . Maconochie was born in Edinburgh , Scotland on 11 February 1787 . He joined the Royal Navy in 1803 and as a midshipman he saw active service in the Napoleonic Wars , rising to the rank of Lieutenant , and was a prisoner of war from 1811 to 1814 . He later saw service in the British - American War against the United States . He was a founder , and first secretary of , the Royal Geographical Society in 1830 , and in 1833 became the first professor of Geography at the University College London , and was a knight of the Royal Guelphic Order . Penal reformer . In 1836 he sailed to the convict settlement at Hobart in Van Diemen ' s Land ( now Tasmania ) as private secretary to the Lieutenant - Governor Sir John Franklin . Here he wrote a report strongly critical of the state of prison discipline . The convict system , being fixated on punishment alone , released back into society crushed , resentful and bitter expirees , in whom the spark of enterprise and hope was dead . Maconochie ' s report “ can be said to mark the peak and incipient decline of transportation to Australia ” when it was given to Lord Russell , the Home Secretary and ardent critic of transportation , claims Robert Hughes . Although this report was used by the Molesworth Committee on transportation in 1837 - 38 , the criticism of this work forced Franklin to dismiss him . According to his biographer John Barry , Maconochie “ was a deeply religious man , of generous and compassionate temperament , and convinced of the dignity of man . ” His two basic principles of penology were that : Following the Molesworth committee ' s report , transportation to New South Wales was abolished in 1840 , although it continued to other colonies . Disturbed at reports of conditions on Norfolk Island , Lord Normanby , Secretary of State for the Colonies , suggested that a new system should be used , and the superintendence given to an officer deeply concerned with the moral welfare of the convicts . Maconochie was recommended to put this new system in place . In March 1840 he took up duties as commandant of the penal settlement at Norfolk Island and applied his penal principles . Convicts were awarded ' marks ' to encourage effort and thrift . Sentences were served in stages , each increasing in responsibility . Cruel punishments and degrading conditions were reduced , and convicts ' sense of dignity was respected . Perhaps the fact that he was the only commandant to have experienced the life of a prisoner himself , played a part in his approach to his task . These views contrasted greatly with the cruel conditions that had existed on Norfolk Island prior to Maconochie ' s arrival . He was not permitted to apply his principles to the 1 , 200 hardened twice - sentenced convicts , but only to the 600 newcomers sent directly from the United Kingdom and who were separated from the ' Old Hands ' . His ' mark ' system was not permitted to reduce a convict ' s sentence , and it was difficult to find other incentives . His reforms were resisted by military guards , supervisors and constables ( many of whom were ex - convicts ) at his command . In particular , his deputy held views opposite to his own . In an exclusively male environment , he found he was unable to reduce the ' unnatural offence ' of sodomy which was prevalent and which he continued to punish by flogging . Criticism of his methods in Sydney and England led Governor Sir George Gipps to visit the island in 1843 . He was favourably impressed with the condition of the convicts and the effectiveness of the ' marks ' system , and reported that Maconochie ' s System of Moral Reform could work if carried through to its conclusion . However the order had already been given in the United Kingdom for Maconochie to be replaced . Under the commandants who followed him , Norfolk Island reverted to being an object of terror under brutal masters . Almost 1 , 400 convicts had been discharged during Maconochie ' s term , and he always claimed that a high percentage did not offend again . He is known as the " Father of Parole " . Later life . Maconochie returned to the UK in 1844 and two years later published a book outlining his system . This had an immense influence on the development of penology . In 1849 he was appointed governor of the new prison at Birmingham , but was unjustly dismissed and criticised for his actions , in spite of being praised for his humanity and benevolence . He died on 25 October 1860 at Morden in Surrey , still campaigning for penal reform in spite of ill - health . He was buried at St Lawrence Church , London Road , Morden , Surrey . Legacy . John Barry states that “ Maconochie was a pioneer in penal reform , and suffered the fate of men in advance of their times . His concepts and many of his practical measures are now the basis of Western penal systems . ” The Alexander Maconochie Centre , a prison in Canberra , is named in his honour .