Cascades Female Factory Historic Site

A fascinating insight into the lives of women sent to an unforgiving Van Diemen's Land. Whilst there is little physically remaining of the site, the staff are passionate researchers, archivists, and tour guides. The hour-long tour (based around the lives of a select few women who faced different fates) that we joined was incredibly detailed and moving. It's truly incredible how much they have been able to piece together, and continue to discover. Nice to walk along the river path to the site. Worth noting that the experience is mostly outside and not under cover. Highly recommend!

What what a fabulous experience! I booked a ‘Convict Women’s Tour’ and was lucky enough to have the lovely Fin as my guide. He explained the history of the factory, about the process of the arrival, living and working conditions of the women that were transported to Van Diemens Land (now Tasmania). This Women’s convict jail was extremely interesting to me as one of my ancestors had been transported here. Mark, also a tour guide explained to me about any babies born to the convicts and how there were nurseries, a plaque and a memorial wall in the yard adjacent to the impressive information centre. After the tour I was lucky enough again to have the lovely Fin assist me in the Matron’s Cottage where there are computers to do research on female convicts sent to the colony of New South Wales, Australia and how I can access the records at home. Just excellent! There are several different tours to take and the choice of books to buy is excellent. I purchased the Convict Cookery book. Fascinating!

We opted for the one-hour storytelling tour and it was absolutely wonderful. Our guide was incredibly informative and genuinely passionate, bringing to life the powerful stories of seven convict women who passed through the factory. The way the history was shared was both compelling and moving, and it gave us a real sense of the women’s strength, resilience, and experiences. Such an important piece of history, presented in a thoughtful and engaging way. Highly recommended. Thank you for a fantastic experience!

Absolutely worth every cent to go through and hear the stories of the women whom walked through the doors in that past. Absolutely heartbreaking! The staff were fantastic and stayed back a few minutes to make sure I got to see both sides. They were all so kind, had incredible knowledge and great with the kids!

Fantastic historic site. I love that they have followed the concept of repairing what still exists, but not replacing or rebuilding anything that has been lost. Finn was an excellent tour guide too, he managed to balance being factual while showing empathy for the women and their circumstance.

We were on a little ride to the Cascade brewery and past through here on the way so decided to stopped for a visit. Booked in for the 2 pm Notorious Strumpets & Dangerous Girls tour which took about 75 minutes. The place is mostly walls and outline on the floor left, with one cottage in the corner of Yard 3&4 where our tour took place. The tour staff, Mark, was very good at story telling and make great impressions which made it fun to listen to the stories. However I'm just not the type to like sitting around for almost an hour so I didnt enjoyed that. The story of how woman in general used to be treated in the past and how much they were not allow to do just very depressing and sad! I think the self guided tour with audio I can play from my phone would have been much more enjoyable for me so I can walk around while listening to the stories. I also really enjoyed reading the stories of different woman who was here on a little plated cards scattered around the place. Overall a place full of important histories!

Well worth a visit if you are interested in the convict history of female incarceration in Tasmania. A world class exhibition linked to the other convict locations in Tasmania and Australia. During the summer months it can be extremely hot in the grounds due to the open nature, so bring an umbrella (they do have a limited number of umbrella available). We are glad that we did visit and a must do if in Hobart.

This is apart of our history that needs to be talked about and future generations need to be educated about. The tour guide John was incredible with his knowledge and his reverence in speaking about the women, children and the ways of this place. Very honourable mention to this site and it should be on every tour in Hobart.

This UNESCO World heritage site is the best place to connect with a lesser known stories of Australia's female convicts. The story is told through bios and artifacts of the displacement, mistreatment and forced migration of convict women & girls, and their contribution to colonisation throughout the history of colonial Australia to the present day. On the journey women were divided into 2 groups depending on their behavior. The class system regulated clothing & jobs of the women while in the factory. The more trustworthy women were employed as cooks, task overseers & hospital attendants. Second class convicts made clothes for the establishment and prepared & mended linen. The crime class was sentenced to the washtub, laundering for the factory, the orphan school and the penitentiary; they also carded and spun wool. All of these tasks were subject to change at the discretion of the Principal Superintendent.

A must do for people interested in Australia's history. The highlight of this place is the interactive performance at 12 pm each day called "Her Story" which is performed by 2 actors who take you briefly through the experience of a prisoner there called "Mary". It was moving and disturbing. A story that needs to be told. A must do