The Cascades Female Factory is a World Heritage-listed historic site situated in the country of the Muwinina people in lutruwita / Tasmania. This site reflects on the story of the displacement, mistreatment and forced migration of convict women and girls, and their contribution to the history of Australia from colonisation to the present day. Interwoven are the First Nation’s stories of Palawa, a culture that is over 40,000 years old and which was so gravely impacted by British colonisation.
Posted By : Aussie_2012
Sorry to say but this place failed in many ways. We went to the female factory in Ross, Port Arthur and Sarah Island in Strahan. At those places we were just given the facts of what life was like there, not a forced opinion that came across as a feminist point of view. At Ross it was also free but still we got a lot of information there. Here at the Cascades Female Factory you walk into 3 large virtually empty spaces and have to either go on a tour that you have to pay more money or have to do an audio tour that chews up battery life on your phone as well as listen again to a very feminist point of view. When we go to historical places, we like to read at our own pace, just get the simple facts and make our own opinion on how things were. And to pay $25 each was ridiculous. There was a small building with some information signage but the rest was large empty spaces with modern sculptures. Ripoff and from reading reviews of the place prior to it being turned into a feminist ranting place, this used to be a decent place to lear and visit.
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Posted On : 2024-01-07 17:47:13 
Posted By : 553silvanaj
Sad place with dark history and stories of convict women. That was reception for convict women from 1828. and you can use imagination to have some ideas what was going on at that place. At the same time there was also 2,000 kids.
The place is tourist attraction but also very educational place for everyone. It's good to know some history facts from that past and how life was hard at that time, especially for women.
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Posted On : 2023-11-21 06:45:46
Posted By : jo82l
highly recommend a visit here . Very interesting and give a good outlook of what life used to be . Would recommend doing a guided tour to be able to make more sense of it all
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Posted On : 2023-11-06 19:51:51
Posted By : karol452
My recommendation is to take the tour with the guide. A person will get so much more information. There is an extra charge for the tour guide but well worth. Otherwise you can do the tour via your phone.
There is a computer you can look up relatives.
This experience was very interesting.
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Posted On : 2023-11-04 00:59:11
Posted By : Y1040KXsusannec
Great insight into the lives, and control over, convict women. Really worth taking the guided tour to bring the story to life. Hugh was amazing!
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Posted On : 2023-10-29 06:05:12
Posted By : PerthWAJohn
This visit gives a harrowing insight to the horrific treatment dished out to women convicts and their children by the early english authorities in Tasmania. The lives they were forced to lead are just terrible by any standard, and is a part of our early settlement history we should hang our heads in shame.
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Posted On : 2023-10-26 02:57:03
Posted By : GurusW
I am fully aware of a lot of the penal history of Australia including the situation the female convicts found themselves in. That being said this was a tour worth doing.
We did both the guided tour and later the one woman show with Carissa.
I cannot fault the staff with their help for my mum, their knowledge and their passion for what is part of our dark past.
If you can, it is worthwhile doing both tours as the first gives you the background while the second brings it all to life. There is no food onsite so be prepared or allow time to jump up to the brewery.
Many have mentioned the absence of structure, however if you use a little imagination while the tour is on you can easily put yourself in the picture. There are also images displayed by the guide.
If visiting with kids in Years 4-6 it also gives them an excellent insight into the History they will study at school
Spend the few extra $ do the tour and don't try to tack on for free.
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Posted On : 2023-10-05 20:41:01
Posted By : westy54
The Factory, effectively a prison, was first opened in 1828. The original yard and buildings were then progressively extended, as convict numbers increased, to be five yards with their own buildings by the time the Factory was officially proclaimed a gaol in 1856. The Gaol closed in 1877 and the site was used for other purposes until it was subdivided and auctioned off in 1905. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the Government purchased three of the original Yards (one, three and four) but by then most of the structures, except the external walls and the Matron's Cottage, had been demolished.
We did the self guided audio tour which cost $15-00 each. You downloaded the audio app onto your phone and were given a printed map with 19 different stations (could have been better ordered as you ended up retracing your steps between a number of stations) as well as an Information Pamphlet.
This pamphlet stated that between 1788 and 1853 some 25,000 female convicts were transported to Australia with approximately half coming to Tasmania and spending time in one of this colony's five female factories/prisons.
They were held in despicable conditions, harshly punished (solitary confinement, wearing neck chains etc), fed poorly (often bread and water) and made to work hard. Their children, whether brought with them or born subsequent to their arrival, fared little better. It is absolutely heart-breaking to see the number of infants who died whilst their mothers were held in this prison. The infant mortality rate was staggering and if they survived they were shipped out to orphanages. There is a list on the wall of Yard Four of births and, mostly, deaths.
I find it extremely difficult to understand how any of our so-called refined and educated English descendants could possibly have thought that this was acceptable treatment.
Whilst I found the visit to be interesting I also found it to be very depressing.
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Posted On : 2023-10-02 02:56:49
Posted By : jlharkins87
I didn’t know much about convict history, especially of women and children before this tour. The tour guide was brilliant, he really cared about and was connected to the place and the history of the people who were incarcerated there. I realised when I was there that I’m not sure if I’ve been to many sites of specifically Women’s history (if any) and I am so glad this place has been preserved.
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Posted On : 2023-09-05 02:32:18
Posted By : 25JaK
Excellent well worth a visit, we had no idea about all the women’s and children transported. The audio tour with entry is great, very informative, so much information and gives you an ability to immerse yourself into what happened. We had our own earbuds and used our phones, it was easy. Thank you to the National Trust for the respectful way they have recreated the site.
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Posted On : 2023-09-04 04:38:48
