The Female Factory Research Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 12:30 to 1:30 at the Heritage Tasmania, 103 Macquarie St, Hobart (the old Union Esanda Bank building), opposite Franklin Square.  You are welcome to attend.

An informative talk followed by discussion is usually part of each meeting. 

Upcoming meetings: 

bullet

12 August 2008 - James Parker will give a talk entitled The spread of the single cell as punishment, and its philosophical origins.

bullet

9 September 2008 - Hamish Maxwell-Stewart will give a talk on his research into absconders - both female and male convicts.

bullet

14 October 2008 - tba

bullet

11 November 2008 - Liz Rushen will give a talk titled The Respectable Housekeeper and Mrs Wilson's Jewellery. The report details the stories of immigrant women to NSW who ended up being transported to VDL in the 1830s, viz. Mary Ann Drayton, Phoebe McKenzie, Margaret McNamara (aka Cochrane), Mary McHenry, Louisa Fuller, Margaret Collins, Phoebe Wainwright and Elizabeth James.

bullet

9 December2008 - tba

   

 

Previous meetings:

bullet

8 July 2008 - Trudy Cowley gave a talk about odd and unexpected stories of female convicts she has come across whilst transcribing convict records into the Female Family Founders Database. Notes from her talk are available here.

bullet

10 June 2008 - Joan Kavanagh from Ireland gave a talk on Eliza Davis transported on the Tasmania in 1845.

bullet

8 April 2008 - Lucy Frost gave a talk titled Little more than girls: the youngest convicts on the Atwick.

bullet

13 May 2008 - Angie McGowan gave a talk titled Thresholds for determining significance in Tasmania's historical archaeological sites: exploring the new legislative frameworks for listing and managing.

bullet

11 March 2008 - Tim Causer, a PhD student, gave a talk on his research into Norfolk Islanders. He noted that some of the male convicts were sentenced for sacrilege.

bullet

12 February 2008 - A reading of the play Unruly Women by Sue McCormick was given. The play is based on the real life events of 1826 when three Lancashire hand weavers were convicted of breaking the new mechanical looms which threatened their livelihoods and found themselves in Lancaster Gaol awaiting transportation to Australia.

bullet

11 December 2007 - Colette McAlpine gave a talk on a National Trust project she has been involved in investigating the lives of women at Runnymede. Dorothea Pitcairn, the wife of Robert Pitcairn who built Runnymede, featured, as did some letters of hers recently unearthed in Scotland.

bullet

13 November 2007 - Joyce Purtscher and Dr Dianne Snowden led us on a tour of the Queen's Orphan Schools. A transcript of material for the talk is available here.

bullet

9 October 2007 - Dr Alison Alexander gave a talk titled 'The convict stigma: why was it worse in Tasmania?'. Input from the audience was appreciated.

bullet

11 September 2007 - Thelma Mackay gave a talk based on her recently published book The Princess Royal Girls: The First Free Female Immigration Ship to Van Diemen's Land 1832.

bullet

14 August 2007 - Toni Sherwood gave a talk titled Annie Baxter Dawbin and her convict servants in Hobart 1849–1850

bullet

10 July 2007 - Andy McKinlay gave a talk on the first orphanages (before the Queen's Orphan Schools).

bullet

12 June 2007 - Members of the George Town History Society gave a talk on female convicts at George Town and the George Town Female Factory.

bullet

8 May 2007 - Joyce Purtscher gave a talk on the Reformatories, Industrial School and St Joseph's Orphanage. A synopsis of her talk is available here—After the Queen's Orphanage.

bullet

10 April 2007 - Professor Lucy Frost gave a talk entitled Imagining Mary Hutchinson on the life of Mary Hutchinson, Matron of Cascades Female Factory and later Superintendent of Launceston Female Factory. This talk will be published as a chapter in a forthcoming book.

bullet

13 March 2007 - Dr Alison Alexander gave a talk on Tasmanian attitudes to convicts in the 19th century.

bullet

13 February 2007 - Allison Rylan, Historic Heritage Officer for the Cascades site gave a report on activities concerning the site, particularly the draft Conservation Management Plan.

bullet

12 December 2006 - Fiona MacFarlane gave a talk on Jemmy the Rover, an infamous and interesting female convict who matched it with the boys!

bullet

14 November 2006 - Dr Dianne Snowden gave a talk on findings from research on the female convicts transported on Rajah - who was involved in making the Rajah Quilt?

bullet

10 October 2006 - Dr Trudy Cowley gave a talk on findings from research on the female convicts transported on Rajah - disposal of the convicts on arrival and riots in the Launceston and Cascades female factories.

bullet

12 September 2006 - Leonie Mickleborough gave a talk titled Lieutenant-Governor Colonel William Sorell: Appearances of Respectability. A copy of her talk is available here.

bullet

8 August 2006 - Dr Rebecca Kippen, whose PhD thesis was titled Death in Tasmania gave a talk titled Infant and Child Mortality in the Convict Nurseries. A copy of her talk is available here.

bullet

11 July 2006 - Dr Alison Alexander gave a talk about the lives of convicts after gaining their freedom, providing statistics on those who stayed in Tasmania and those who left.

bullet

13 June 2006 - Dr Susan Ballyn, Director, Australian Studies Centre, University of Barcelona, gave a talk titled Esther Botibol per Anna Maria—Sephardi Jewess from Portugal, Italy or London? Her obscure identity and obscurer life.

bullet

9 May 2006 – Joyce Purtscher gave a presentation called "Where did they all go? indexing institutions of the post-convict period". She told us about the post-convict institutions, including the Brickfields Invalid Depot (1859–1882), the Cascades Invalid Depot (1869–1879); the Launceston Benevolent Asylum (1895–1915), the Launceston Invalid Depot, and the New Town Charitable Institute 1874 onwards. She spoke about the survival (or not) of their records, and about what she has learned from indexing them.

bullet

11 April 2006 – group members talked about their current research projects related to female convicts.

bullet

14 March 2006 – Prof Lucy Frost gave a talk titled Gifts of Patchwork & Visits to Whitehall: The Ladies British Society and the Female Convict Transports

bullet

14 February 2006 – Fiona MacFarlane gave a talk about the Dress Reform in the 19th century

bullet

6 December 2005 – Prof Lucy Frost held a conversation with colonial archaeologist Dr Eleanor Casella about her work at the Ross Female Factory

bullet

24 November 2005 – a workshop, in collaboration with the Centre for Colonialism and its Aftermath, was held at Ross Supper Room - click here for more information

bullet

8 November 2005 - Jeanette Hyland gave a talk about her forthcoming book Maids, Masters & Magistrates

bullet

11 October 2005 - Fiona Macfarlane's talk about the aesthetic dress movement was cancelled due to illness and is rescheduled for March 2006

bullet

13 September 2005 - Dr Trudy Cowley gave a talk titled Mad or just feisty? about Australasia convicts who were inmates at New Norfolk Insane Asylum

bullet

9 August 2005 - Tony Rayner, author of female factory, female convicts gave a talk titled Reflections on the Site of the Female Factory at Cascades

bullet

12 July 2005 - Irene Schaffer talked about 5 colonial Tasmanian women, including Elizabeth Gibson, the Mistress of Pleasant Banks, and Mary Bowater

bullet

14 June 2005 - Ken Griffin, who was visiting Tasmania for 6 weeks from Hertfordshire, talked about his British convicts 1770-1870 database project and female convicts

bullet

10 May 2005 - Jo Richardson, a doctoral student at UTAS, talked about Mary Morton Allport and her servants

bullet

2 May 2005 - a special  meeting was held in conjunction with the University of Tasmania's Centre for Colonialism and its Aftermath — Helen McDonald, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Melbourne spoke on the chapter in her new book Human Remains:  Episodes in human dissection about Mary McLachlan, the first woman hanged in Van Diemen's Land, for the offence of killing her baby at Cascades Female Factory

bullet

12 April 2005 - Brad Williams talked about the archaeological survey he is conducting of the Anson mooring and provided general background on other Australian hulks

bullet

8 March 2005 - Babette Smith, author of A Cargo of Women talked about the research she is conducting for her upcoming book

bullet

8 February 2005 - Dianne Snowden gave a talk titled The Flash Mob:  Historical Authenticity and Heritage Tourism

bullet

14 December 2004 - Prof Lucy Frost talked about female convicts transported to Van Diemen's Land from multi-cultural backgrounds (eg, Portugal, France, West Indies)

bullet

9 November 2004 - the Group debriefed from the muster held on 7 November and celebrated our success

bullet

12 October 2004 - Chris Woods talked about her book, The Last Ladies and we held a final planning meeting for the muster which was held on 7 November

bullet

14 September 2004 - planning meeting for the muster which was held on 7 November

bullet

10 August 2004 - Dr Kirsty Reid from the University of Bristol talked about female convicts in early VDL (from her forthcoming book)

bullet

13 July 2004 - Dr Alison Alexander chaired a discussion on the design of our database

bullet

8 June 2004 - Gai Anderson talked about her play Reading Between the Lines (a muster highlight)

If you are interested in joining us, or simply wish to find out more about us and our research, please do not hesitate to contact us.


TOP OF PAGE

Last updated 21 July 2008

                             

Site designed by Research Tasmania.  Site hosted by info-bulletin.com.  Graphic images by Chris Downes.