What is the Cascades Female Factory?
The Cascades Female Factory in South Hobart was a prison and workhouse for convict women, operating from 1828 to 1856. It is part of the World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites.
Thousands of convict women transported to Van Diemen's Land passed through the factory. They worked at laundry, sewing and spinning, and some were assigned to work as servants for free settlers.
Conditions were harsh. The site was cold and damp, at the foot of kunanyi/Mount Wellington, and many babies born there died young. Women who broke rules faced solitary confinement and hard labour.
Stories of resistance
Convict women at the factory sometimes resisted harsh treatment. In one famous incident, women are said to have mooned the governor's party during a chapel service.
After transportation ended, the site became a jail, a home for the poor and a hospital, and parts were demolished or sold for housing. Only some yards and walls survive today.
Today, the site is managed by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority. Visitors can join tours and a theatre performance, Her Story, that brings convict women's lives to life.
Did You Know?
About 25,000 women were transported to Australia as convicts, roughly 12,000 of them to Van Diemen's Land.