Convicts were a source of labour to build roads, bridges, courthouses, hospitals and other public buildings, or to work on government farms, while educated convicts may have been given jobs such as record-keeping for the government administration. Female convicts, on the other hand, were generally employed as domestic …
What did female convicts wear on the First Fleet?
The women wore clothes such as ‘slops’ in blue or brown serge, or a stuff gown, white apron and straw bonnet for Sunday with a jacket and a coarse apron for weekdays.
What did female convicts eat?
Convicts and soldiers received a weekly ration of: 7 pounds of beef or 4 pounds of pork. 7 pounds of bread or flour. 3 pints peas….At the Female Factory at Parramatta, each woman was given a weekly ration of:
- 7 pounds of bread.
- 3.5 pounds of fresh meat.
- 1 pound sugar.
- 2 oz tea (from Convict Guide, p.
What is meant by the term female factory and how does it relate to this time period?
‘Female factories’ were places managed by the colonial government where Australia’s convict women were sent awaiting assignment, and for reform and punishment. Convict women were seen as both in need of protection and as a moral threat to society.
What were female factories?
Female Factories. Female Factories were established in Van Diemen’s Land primarily as places of punishment for women charged with further offences after their initial sentences of transportation. They also housed women who could not work, either because they were ill or pregnant, or because they were nursing children.
Why were female convicts given less rations?
Female convicts and marine wives received 2/3 of male convict ration. In order that they could tend their own gardens, convicts did not have to work on Saturday afternoons. This means a reduction of 12lb for every 100lb of beef and 8lb for every 100lb of pork.
How were female convicts treated in Australia?
Despite the belief that convict women during the transportation period were all prostitutes, no women were transported for that offence. The majority of women sent to Australia were convicted for what would now be considered minor offences (such as petty theft), most did not receive sentences of more than seven years.
Who was the youngest female convict on the First Fleet?
Elizabeth Hayward
Elizabeth Hayward. was the youngest female convict, at 13, on the First Fleet. She received seven years transportation at the Old Bailey in January 1787, for being accused of stealing clothes from the clog maker she was working for.
What was life like for child convicts?
They could not speak until they were spoken to and were expected to follow the orders of the master and mistress of the house. For their work, they received food, clothing and lodgings but few were ever compensated for their work until they were emancipated or pardoned.
When did Cascades women’s factory close?
The Women’s Prison at the site finally closed in 1877 with most of the other institutions moving out between the 1880s and 1904. The Cascades Female Factory complex was subdivided and in 1905 auctioned by the government to private buyers.
What did female convicts do in Australia?
Convict women were employed in domestic service, washing and on government farms, and were expected to find their own food and lodging. Punishment for those who transgressed was humiliating and public.
What were the punishments for convicts?
Flogging. As punishment for even more serious crimes, or for repeated misbehaviour, a convict could also be whipped, or ‘flogged’, with a cat-o’-nine-tails. However, the Superintendent could not order this punishment: it had to be approved by a magistrate of the court, or by the Governor.
Is the Ross Female Factory still in use?
Today, the Ross Female Factory is a protected Historic Site, managed by the Parks & Wildlife Service and the Tasmanian Wool Centre of Ross. Open to the public, the only remaining building still standing, the Overseer’s Cottage, contains a display on the history of this unique convict site, including a model of the Female Factory in 1851.
Why is it called the female factory?
The name, “Female Factory” was abbreviated from the British institutional title “Manufactory”, and referred to the prisons’ role as a Work House. Today, the Ross Female Factory is a protected Historic Site, managed by the Parks & Wildlife Service and the Tasmanian Wool Centre of Ross.
How many female factories were there in Australia?
In all, there were 12 operational female factories. In the colony of New South Wales there were two at Parramatta (with the new replacing the old), one at Newcastle, Bathurst and Port Macquarie, and two at Moreton Bay. In the colony of Van Diemen’s Land there were five – Hobart Town, Cascades, Launceston, Ross and George Town.
What was the Newcastle Gaol and female factory?
In 1830 there was discussion about using the gaol as a place for ‘incorrigible women’ but it was not cost effective. In 1831 a riot at the Parramatta Female Factory resulted in 37 women being sent to Newcastle, and from 1831 to 1846 it was known as the Newcastle Gaol and Female Factory.
