The peculiar name “Black Maria” given to the old horse-drawn prison van emanated from America. According to tradition, the travelling house of detention was called after Marie Lee, a negress, who kept a sailors’ boardinghouse in Boston. She was of such great strength that the unruly stood in dread of her. When constables required help it was a common thing for them to enlist the services of “Black Maria.”
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19290806.2.64
Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Issue 18830, 6 August 1929, Page 8
Word Count
69Untitled Star (Christchurch), Issue 18830, 6 August 1929, Page 8
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