The female factory at Parramatta 1804-1850s

In the first few decades following the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 there came to be established three institutions in the young colony referred to as female factories. The first was established at Parramatta in 1804 (Schultz, 1991: 4, 11-13) and the other two in 1827, one in Hobart (Schultz, 1991:32, 69) and the other in Moreton Bay (Schultz, 1991:41). This is a brief account of the salient features in the development of the first female factory which highlights the status of women in that early society. In preparing the account I have drawn heavily on Schultz's 'A Tapestry of Service' and Salt's 'These Outcast Women.'