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200th Anniversary of the Parramatta Female FactoryPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Parramatta Female Factory which operated from 1818 to 1848.
The Female Factory was commissioned by Governor Lachlan Macquarie and designed by Francis Greenway. It was a complex of sandstone buildings enclosed within 15 foot high sandstone walls with the main 3 storey sleeping barrack at the centre flanked to the rear and front by workrooms, kitchens, staff residences and various ancillary buildings.
The Female Factory was a response to house and employ unassigned convict women. It also served as a place of punishment, medical facility, refuge and depot. Designed to accommodate 300 women, at its peak in 1842 some 1,203 women and 263 children were in residence.
Situated on a 4 acre allotment bordering the upper reaches of the Parramatta River, by 1838 its footprint doubled to that of about 8 acres with the addition of a 3 storey 72 cell penitentiary range completed in 1839.
Location
| Address: | Greenup Drive, Parramatta Female Factory Precinct, North Parramatta, 2151 |
|---|---|
| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.803191 Long: 151.000082 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Government |
| Sub-Theme: | Colonial |
| Actual Event Start Date: | |
| Approx. Event Start Date: | 1818 |
| Actual Event End Date: | |
| Approx. Event End Date: | 1848 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 7th July, 2018 |
|---|
[ Names ]
Parramatta Female Factory
1818 - 1848
The first purpose built Female Factory was established on this site in July 1818 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie.
The Female Factory at Parramatta was the destination for all unassigned convict women, inlcuding those with young children, sent to the colony of New South Wales.
It was an assignment depot, refuge, workhouse, marriage bureau, hospital and place of punishment and an early health service for convict women and free women, with nursing provided by convict women.
It was called a factory because the convict women worked here - spinning, making textiles, sewing, knitting, straw plaiting, wasjing and cleaning. The women under punishment broke rocks and picked oakum.
The Parramatta Female Factory operated from 1821 until its closure in 1848.
The plaque commemorates the 200th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone by Governor Macquarie
Parramatta Female Factory 1818
