Location | South Hobart, Tasmania |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°53′38″S147°17′57″E / 42.8938°S 147.2993°E |
Status | UNESCO World Heritage Site |
Security class | Former female factory, penal colony |
Opened | 1828 |
Closed | 1856 |
Managed by | Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority |
Website | www |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | iv, vi |
Designated | 2010 (34th session) |
Part of | Australian Convict Sites |
Reference no. | 1306 |
Region | Asia-Pacific |
Place ID | 10,851 [1] |
The Cascades Female Factory, a former Australian workhouse for female convicts in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, is located in Hobart, Tasmania. Operational between 1828 and 1856, the factory is now one of the 11 sites that collectively compose the Australian Convict Sites, listed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. [2]
Collectively the Australian Convict Sites represent an exceptional example of the forced migration of convicts and an extraordinary example of global developments associated with punishment and reform. Representing the female experience, the Cascades Female Factory demonstrates how penal transportation was used to expand Britain's spheres of influence, as well as to punish and reform female convicts.
Now operational as a museum and tourist attraction, the site is managed by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority. The Cascades Female Factory Historic Site consists of three of the original five yards. It is open every day (except Christmas) and offers a range of tours.
Some rooms in the Macquarie Street Gaol served as a temporary Hobart "Female Factory" in the mid-1820s. [3] The Cascades Female Factory was purpose-built in 1828 and operated as a convict facility until 1856. It was intended to remove women convicts from the negative influences and temptations of Hobart, and also to protect society from what was seen as their immorality and corrupting influence. The Factory was located, however, in an area of damp swamp land, and with overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate food and clothes, there was a high rate of disease and mortality among its inmates.
The Cascades Female Factory is the only remaining female factory with extant remains which give a sense of what female factories were like. It is included on the Australian National Heritage List. [4] It was inscribed on the World Heritage list in July 2010, along with ten other Australian convict sites. [2]
Between 2018 and 2019, almost 35,000 people visited the site. [5] A design competition for a new History and Interpretation Centre was won by an international team composed of Tasmanian practice Liminal Studio, international firm Snøhetta and Melbourne landscape architecture practice Rush Wright Associates in 2018. [6] In 2020, the State Government committed $3 million towards the new $5 million Visitor and Interpretation Centre to enhance the storytelling experience and increase visitation. [7] The Federal Government contributed the remaining $2 million. [8]
The Cascades Female Factory Historic Site was re-opened in March, 2022 with the launch of the new History and Interpretation Centre, with Honourable Madeleine Ogilvie MP and Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce delivering keynote speeches. [9]
Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half of Tasmania's population, Hobart is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest by area after Darwin if territories are taken into account. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre (4,170 ft) kunanyi / Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The island was previously discovered and named by the Dutch in 1642. Explorer Abel Tasman discovered the island, working under the sponsorship of Anthony van Diemen, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. The British retained the name when they established a settlement in 1803 before it became a separate colony in 1825. Its penal colonies became notorious destinations for the transportation of convicts due to the harsh environment, isolation and reputation for being inescapable.
Port Arthur is a town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is located approximately 97 kilometres (60 mi) southeast of the state capital, Hobart.
The Tasman Peninsula, officially Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, is a peninsula located in south-east Tasmania, Australia, approximately 75 km (47 mi) by the Arthur Highway, south-east of Hobart.
Margate is a small seaside town on the Channel Highway between North-West Bay and the Snug Tiers, 7 kilometres (4 mi) south of Kingston in Tasmania, Australia. It is mostly in the Kingborough Council area, with about 4% in the Huon Valley Council LGA. Margate is also part of the Greater Hobart statistical area.
The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former British colonial penal settlement, established on Sarah Island, Macquarie Harbour, in the former colony of Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, operated between 1822 and 1833. The settlement housed male convicts, with a small number of women housed on a nearby island. During its 11 years of operation, the penal colony achieved a reputation as one of the harshest penal settlements in the Australian colonies. The former penal station is located on the eight-hectare (twenty-acre) Sarah Island that now operates as a historic site under the direction of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
South Hobart is one of Hobart's inner suburbs. It is bound by Dynnyrne, Fern Tree, West Hobart and the Hobart City Centre.
The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (RTBG), which cover an area of approximately 14 hectares, in Hobart located within the Queens Domain.
Hobart City High School is a government co-educational high school in New Town, Hobart. Hobart City High School was formed in 2022 when Oglivie High School and New Town High School merged. The merged schools are now co-educational and were the last of Tasmania's single-sex public schools. Hobart City High caters for approximately 1200 students from Years 7 to 12. It is administered by the Tasmanian Department of Education.
Cadbury's Chocolate Factory, also known as Cadbury's Claremont and colloquially as Cadbury's, is a prominent Australian chocolate factory situated in Claremont, Tasmania. Producing a company-record of over 60,000 tonnes of chocolate in 2021, it has earned distinction as "the largest chocolate factory in the southern hemisphere". Established in 1921, the factory and surrounding model village estate marked Cadbury's first business expansion outside the United Kingdom. The facility is currently owned by the multinational conglomerate Mondelez International, which purchased Cadbury in 2010.
Female factories were based on British bridewells, prisons and workhouses. They were for women convicts transported to the penal colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land.
Ross is a village in the Midlands of the state of Tasmania in Australia. On the Macquarie River, Ross is located 78 km south of Launceston and 117 km north of Hobart. The town is listed on the Register of the National Estate and is noted for its historic bridge, original sandstone buildings and convict history.
Parliament Square is a historic city block, located directly behind the Tasmanian Parliament House in Hobart, Tasmania. It is presently under redevelopment, and upon completion will include Marriot International hotel, seven retail spaces, state government office building and plaza.
Australian Convict Sites is a World Heritage property consisting of 11 remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips at Sydney, Tasmania, Norfolk Island, and Fremantle; now representing "...the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts".
The Ross Female Factory, a former Australian workhouse for female convicts in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, is located in the village of Ross, in the midlands region of Tasmania. The site was operational between 1848 and 1854.
Madeleine Ruth Ogilvie is an Australian lawyer and politician. She is a Liberal Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the Division of Clark and is a minister in the Second Rockliff ministry
The Tasmanian Heritage Register is the statutory heritage register of the Australian state of Tasmania. It is defined as a list of areas currently identified as having historic cultural heritage importance to Tasmania as a whole. The Register is kept by the Tasmanian Heritage Council within the meaning of the Tasmanian Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995. It encompasses in addition the Heritage Register of the Tasmanian branch of the National Trust of Australia, which was merged into the Tasmanian Heritage Register. The enforcement of the heritage's requirements is managed by Heritage Tasmania.
Isle of the Dead is an island, about 1 hectare in area, adjacent to Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. It is historically significant since it retains an Aboriginal coastal shell midden, one of the first recorded sea-level benchmarks, and one of the few preserved Australian convict-period burial grounds. The Isle of the Dead occupies part of the Port Arthur Historic Site, is part of Australian Convict Sites and is listed as a World Heritage Property because it represents convictism in the era of British colonisation.
kunanyi/Mount Wellington is a dominant feature on the skyline above Hobart, in Tasmania, Australia.
The State Cinema is a historic cinema venue located in North Hobart, Tasmania. It was acquired by the US-owned Reading Cinemas chain in November 2019.