Parramatta Female Factory Precinct

Who were the women of the Female Factory? where did they come from?

Convict Bonnets 'Roses from the Heart' Tasmanian based artist Christina Henri invites people throughout the world to make a bonnet tribute to commemorate the value of a convict woman's life.

In their Footsteps

The children of the Orphanage and Girls Industrial School/Home

Heritage information

History

Settlement; Factory Above the Gaol;

News

Parragirls

A contact register and support network for former Parramatta Girls - information on support services and welfare files.

Records

Where you can obtain records for: Convicts; Asylum; Orphanage; Industrial School; Parramatta Girls Home

Visit

How to get there; Self Guide Tour;
Glengarriff Museum; Site Map

Parramatta Female Factory Precinct is located in the heart of Western Sydney about 3kls north of the Parramatta CBD on approximately 56 acres of land bounded by the Parramatta River, Fleet Street, New Street and the Parramatta Gaol.

It is among the most significant historic sites in Australia and has been in continuous use as a place of confinement since 1821. The institutions of the Female Factory Precinct include:

Parramatta Female Factory (1821-1847) the destination of all unassigned convict women in the colony of NSW.
Parramatta Mental Asylum since 1847 the former Female Factory site has been used as an Asylum and today is known as Cumberland Hospital.
Roman Catholic Orphan School built beside the Female Factory in 1840 the first government owned orphanage for catholic children in Australia.
Parramatta Girls Home occupied the former RCOS premises in 1887 and operated as a child welfare institution until the 1980's. Since 1980 the main building has been used as the Norma Parker Detention Centre for Women.

Today many of historical buildings and structures of the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct are threatened with demolition by neglect.

Unlike other convict sites, the Precinct is off limits to tourists and other visitors who would like to see this remarkable site.

This is a situation we'd like to change, but we need your help to do so.

If like us you feel strongly about Australia's history and heritage we urge you to read the information in the About Us section and act now in saving this site as a major cultural and heritage tourism destination.

PFFP Memory Project - Trace, Place, Identity

The Parramatta Female Factory Precinct Memory Project brings together artists, academics, historians, writers and researchers with former occupants in a social history and contemporary art project to examine its history, heritage and legacy, to document and record the issues and experiences of people who have experienced institutional ‘care' and encourage community engagement with the site. Auspiced by Manning Clark House, Canberra, and funded through Arts NSW the PFFP Memory Project aims to activate the site as a creative hub for Western Sydney.

Abandon All Hope

The first comprehensive history of the Parramatta Girls Home and the Roman Catholic Orphanage. Abandon All Hope also examines the influence of the penal convict system on the development of the child welfare system in NSW and contains many first hand accounts of those who once occupied these institutions.

RRP $35 + P&H

Order your copy here

Behind The Sun -

The first book in a trilogy by Deborah Challinor Behind the Sun tells the story of four women who meet in London′s notorious Newgate gaol, awaiting transportation.

When they finally arrive on the other side of the world, they are confined to the grim and overcrowded Parramatta Female Factory. But worse is to come as the threat of separation looms. In the land behind the sun, the only thing they have is each other ...