To find in depth descriptions of the Female Factory at Parramatta I suggest Robert Hughes "The Fatal Shore". I quote..."The Female Factory was a loft above a gaol, some sixty feet by twenty. This loft was filthy and its floor could not, in any case, be washed, since its boards had warped so much that water went straight through the cracks onto the heads of prisoners in the cells below. The roof leaked, the privies stank, and the kitchen was just a fireplace. Here the women were expected to card and spin wool into yarn, and from the yarn weave the coarse "Parramatta cloth" from which the convicts winter clothes were made." The book goes on to describe the 'new' female factory built in Macquarie's time but it was still at Parramatta. There's quite a lot of detail for anyone interested. Good luck... Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carol Wood" <nanawood@bigpond.com> To: <aus-convicts@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 4:54 PM Subject: Re: [AUS-CON] Female factory Parramatta > Hi Greg, > > I am also interested in the first female factory but have never been able > to > get much information except this below. I don't know that the building in > Parramatta was a Female Factory, probably more like a women's temporary > barracks. I believe there was also a very early female factory or > barracks > somewhere in the city, maybe Macquarie Street, which was later given to > Caroline Chisholm to house immigrant women. I would be glad to hear from > anyone who may know something about these two very early buildings. > > "Parramatta's Prince Alfred Park was the site of the first Female Factory > in > Australia, in 1804. It then moved to Fleet Street and remains of the > factory, which opened in 1821, can be seen today." > > Carol Wood > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Thanks Jan I didn't think to use the Fatal Shore as a resource. I'll check it out and hope Hughes has footnoted his source. That may lead me somewhere. However, a description, as you have provided, is very useful. Cheers Greg

The other source worth checking is Manning Clark's "A History of Australia" Vol 1 page 240. Clark is excellent about convicts generally and gives many very interesting comments and contemporary quotes. Best regards Peter Ferguson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Bugden" <pgbugden@bigpond.net.au> To: <aus-convicts@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2008 8:20 AM Subject: Re: [AUS-CON] Female factory Parramatta > Thanks Jan > I didn't think to use the Fatal Shore as a resource. I'll check it out and > hope Hughes has footnoted his source. That may lead me somewhere. However, > a > description, as you have provided, is very useful. > Cheers > Greg > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >