RESEARCHED BY PETER KILLACKEY
THE ASSIGNMENT SYSTEM

Convict Stories:
The Female Factory

Opened in 1804 on the banks of Parramatta river in New South Wales as a place for the reception of women convicts who could not be placed, and as temporary residence for those who had just landed; at first it was merely one room built over the goal but Governor MACQUARIE built a whole new factory. Designed by Francis GREENWAY and built in 1819 across the river from the settlement. With 3 storeys, it housed 300 women and was the first weaving establishment to be built in Australia. The convict women were put to work making blankets and rough linen by 1822.
Governor DARLING placed the factory under a Board which improved rations, and also later added a hospital. Governor GIPPS built a new cell block in 1838 and his wife instructed the convicts on needle-work. 970 women worked in the factory in 1840 when the female institution at Moreton Bay was closed. The Female Factory was converted to a hospital for 'paupers and lunatics' in 1848.