Cascades Female Factory

The Cascades Female Factory, a former Australian workhouse for female convicts in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, is located in Hobart, Tasmania. Operational between 1828 and 1856, the factory is now one of the 11 sites that collectively compose the Australian Convict Sites, listed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.^[2]

Cascades Female Factory

Cascades Female Factory, circa 1914–41
Location	South Hobart, Tasmania
Coordinates	42.8938°S 147.2993°E / -42.8938; 147.2993
Status	UNESCO World Heritage Site
Security class	Former female factory, penal colony
Opened	1828
Closed	1856
Managed by	Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority
Website	www.femalefactory.org.au
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv, vi
Designated	2010 (34th session)
Part of	Australian Convict Sites
Reference no.	1306
Region	Asia-Pacific
Tasmanian Heritage Register
Place ID	10,851[1]

Collectively the Australian Convict Sites represent an exceptional example of the forced migration of convicts and an extraordinary example of global developments associated with punishment and reform. Representing the female experience, the Cascades Female Factory demonstrates how penal transportation was used to expand Britain's spheres of influence, as well as to punish and reform female convicts.

Now operational as a museum and tourist attraction, the site is managed by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority. The Cascades Female Factory Historic Site consists of three of the original five yards. It is open every day (except Christmas) and offers a range of tours.

History

Some rooms in the Macquarie Street Gaol served as a temporary Hobart "Female Factory" in the mid-1820s.^[3] The Cascades Female Factory was purpose-built in 1828 and operated as a convict facility until 1856. It was intended to remove women convicts from the negative influences and temptations of Hobart, and also to protect society from what was seen as their immorality and corrupting influence. The Factory was located, however, in an area of damp swamp land, and with overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate food and clothes, there was a high rate of disease and mortality among its inmates.

The Cascades Female Factory is the only remaining female factory with extant remains which give a sense of what female factories were like. It is included on the Australian National Heritage List.^[4] It was inscribed on the World Heritage list in July 2010, along with ten other Australian convict sites.^[2]

History and Interpretation Centre development

Between 2018 and 2019, almost 35,000 people visited the site.^[5] A design competition for a new History and Interpretation Centre was won by an international team composed of Tasmanian practice Liminal Studio, international firm Snøhetta and Melbourne landscape architecture practice Rush Wright Associates in 2018.^[6] In 2020, the State Government committed $3 million towards the new $5 million Visitor and Interpretation Centre to enhance the storytelling experience and increase visitation.^[7] The Federal Government contributed the remaining $2 million.^[8]

The Cascades Female Factory Historic Site was re-opened in March, 2022 with the launch of the new History and Interpretation Centre, with Honourable Madeleine Ogilvie MP and Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce delivering keynote speeches.^[9]

Gallery

• 
  Inside the sandstone wall remains of one of the yards (2009)
• 
  A painting of Cascades Female Factory in 1844 by John Skinner Prout
• 
  Cascades Female Factory-Degraves Street view
• 
  Cascades Female Factory-Yard 4 entry
• 
  Cascades Female Factory-Yard 4
• 
  Cascades Female Factory-Middle yard
• 
  An interpretation of the Quilt made by women on the Convict ship Rajah
• 
  Cottage in Yard 4
• 
  From the Shadows statue out front of Cascades Female Factory

See also

• Female Factory

References

1. "Permanent and Provisional Registrations as at 22 Jan 2021" (PDF). Tasmanian Heritage Register. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
2. "Australian Convict Sites". World Heritage Centre. UNESCO. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
3. Frost, Lucy (2006). "The Companion to Tasmanian History - Female Factories". The Companion to Tasmanian History. University of Tasmania. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
4. "Cascades Female Factory". National heritage places. Commonwealth of Australia: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
5. Whiteley, Cameron (5 June 2020). "$5M new visitor centre for Cascades Female Factory". themercury.com.au. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
6. "Liminal, Snøhetta and Rush Wright project at Hobart's Cascades Female Factory progresses". ArchitectureAU. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
7. Whiteley, Cameron (5 June 2020). "$5M new visitor centre for Cascades Female Factory". themercury.com.au. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
8. Ogilvie, Madeleine (25 March 2022). "Improving the visitor experience at Hobart's Cascade Female Factory". premier.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
9. J. Jones, Callum (25 March 2022). "Re-Opening of the Cascades Female Factory". tasmaniantimes.com. Retrieved 27 April 2022.

External links

• Official website
• Tasmanian Heritage Council information package
• Old Photographs of Cascades' Female Factory, 1892