Parramatta Female Factory: A Visit

Australia's oldest still existing, most intact, purpose-built female convict site.

I had the fantastic opportunity to visit the Parramatta Female Factory with my 7-year-old last week. It's the earliest and most intact purpose-built female convict site in Australia.

My daughter sitting on one of the "ha-ha walls"

It operated between 1821 and 1848. It's estimated that 15,000 female convicts passed through the factory during its operation.

In 1821, it housed the colony's first dedicated women's health service, which served both convict and free women.

It was the model for 11 more female factories spread across the colony.

91.2% of crimes that the women were transported for were theft related. Only 1.8% was violent crime.

The women could bring their children if they were under 3 years old. Once reaching the tender age of 3 they would be removed from the care of their mothers being sent to orphanages.

The wall you see with the names on is a memorial to remember all the women who passed through. The dedicated volunteers compiled a list of all the women's first names who spent time at the factory and had them put on this wall.

Many women were named Ann, Elizabeth, etc., so using only first names instead of first and last names was a way to honour all the women in a simple, meaningful way.

Memorial wall

These are just a handful of facts about life at the factory and the existence of female convicts in the early colonial period.

It's estimated that between 1 in 5 and 1 in 7 Australians are descendants of female factory women.