Webinar: Parramatta Female Factory

In the early 1800’s the Parramatta Female Factory was seen by authorities as a solution to the management of female convicts, their protection and the harnessing of their economic power.

Join social history curator and writer Gay Hendriksen and Emily Hanna for a conversation about the history of the Female Factory and the records in the State Archives Collection that tell their stories.

Female Factory, Parramatta

The majority of women convicts were engaged in the manufacture of wool and linen at the Female Factory. A smaller number were employed as hospital nurses and midwives, as servants to officers, and in caring for orphans

Convict Certificate of Freedom

Convicts Guide

Between 1788 and 1842 about 80,000 convicts were transported to New South Wales

Convicts: gaol records

A secure gaol was required for convicts who committed criminal offences within the colony and were sentenced to imprisonment. Gaols were also used to house prisoners awaiting trial or transportation to another penal settlement