Female Factory
Encyclopedia
Female factories were prison workhouses for women convicts transported
to Australia
during the time when some states were a penal colony
.
Most female prisoners transported to Australia were assigned to households as servants. This was generally preferred over being sent to any of the female factories, which were overcrowded and harsh.
Women were sent to the female factories:
The female factories were so named because the women were expected to work while there. http://www.femalefactory.com.au/FFRG/factories.htm
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
during the time when some states were a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
.
Most female prisoners transported to Australia were assigned to households as servants. This was generally preferred over being sent to any of the female factories, which were overcrowded and harsh.
Women were sent to the female factories:
- While awaiting assignment to a household
- While awaiting childbirth or weaning
- For punishment
The female factories were so named because the women were expected to work while there. http://www.femalefactory.com.au/FFRG/factories.htm
Locations
- Parramatta female factoryParramatta female factoryAustralia's first Female Factory, the Factory above the Gaol was located in what is now Prince Alfred Park, Parramatta, New South Wales. It was a simple log walled and thatched roof construction built in 1796 and used primarily as a place of confinement for convict re-offenders. The original...
, Parramatta, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales... - NewcastleNewcastle, New South WalesThe Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales... - Port MacquariePort Macquarie, New South WalesPort Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....
, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales... - Moreton BayMoreton BayMoreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
, QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
- Five female factories operated in Van Diemen's LandVan Diemen's LandVan Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(now Tasmania) during the period of transportationPenal transportationTransportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
http://www.femalefactory.com.au/FFRG/factories.htm:- Hobart TownHobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
- George TownGeorge Town, TasmaniaGeorge Town is one of the larger towns in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. At the 2006 census, George Town had a population of 4,266. It is the regional centre of the George Town Council Local Government Area....
- Cascades Female FactoryCascades Female FactoryCascades Female Factory was an Australian prison in South Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.The site comprises five yards, cemetery and outbuildings and is contained within a rectangular city block....
, HobartHobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
42.8938°N 147.2993°W - LauncestonLaunceston, TasmaniaLaunceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
- RossRoss, TasmaniaRoss is a historic town in the Midlands of the state of Tasmania in Australia. Situated on the Macquarie River, Ross is located 78 km south of Launceston and 117 km north of Hobart...
- Hobart Town