The history of this cat-o’-nine tails is unknown but it is very similar to the one used in the first ever flogging at New Plymouth Gaol in 1876. This weapon was personally signed and authorised by the Minister of Justice, Alexander Herdman in 1913. The cords appear to be frayed and stained and two have snapped off, suggesting extensive use on the backs of unfortunate prisoners. 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.