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Lady
Jane Franklin's Piano
This historic Broadwood
upright piano has been beautifully restored and is
now on view in the Matron's Cottage. The piano is
on long-term loan from Stephen Kerin, a Tasmanian-born
lawyer, a descendant of a convict imprisoned at Cascades
Female Factory.
The piano was made
in England and brought to Tasmania by Lieutenant-Governor
John Franklin's wife, Jane, in 1836.
Contemporary
Quilts from the Rajah
Project
(2003/2004)
The major project for the
Female Factory Historic Site Ltd in the Tasmanian Bicentennial Year
(2004) was the facilitation of the loan of one of Australia's national
treasures, the female convict made Rajah Quilt, from the
National Gallery of Australia.
In early July 2003, a
group of women from around Tasmania met at Ross to discuss the
possibility of bring the Rajah Quilt to Tasmania for the
Tasmanian Bicentenary. The meeting had been initiated by the
Board of the Female Factory Historic Site Ltd.
The Rajah Quilt
was stitched by convict women on board the ship, the Rajah, in
1841. After being discovered in an attic in Scotland in 1987,
the quilt was purchased and is held by the National Gallery and is
sometimes made available for display in other Australian states.
 As
the project evolved, it was decided to invite Tasmanian women to
create contemporary textile works that included quilts, wall hangings,
etc in response to the Rajah Quilt and which would be exhibited
in conjunction with the proposed display of the Rajah Quilt.
A database of interested women was created, a newsletter printed and
circulated, discussions commenced with the National Gallery of
Australia for the proposed loan of the Rajah Quilt, possible
venues contacted regarding exhibition space, and sponsorship and
grants sought.
Negotiations with several
corporate sponsors and submissions for grants were concluded
successfully. This financial support enabled the not
inconsiderable freight costs and insurances for the Rajah Quilt
to be met, the appointment of a designer and curator for the
exhibition, and the design and production of an attractive poster and
free catalogue, together with other associated costs.
A highly successful
complementary exhibition of contemporary pieces was created by women
from around Tasmania and the ACT. The Tasmanian Rajah Quilt
Project was shown in Launceston at the Queen Victoria Museum and
Art Gallery and The Design Centre and in Hobart at the Tasmanian
Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition attracted some 24,388
visitors from late September to early December.
This project was designed
to heighten public awareness of the site and the many facets of its
history. Four of the some 30 pieces that have been either gifted
or are on loan to the Female Factory Historic Site Ltd are on display
at the
Matron's Cottage. Mrs Honey
Bacon accepted the textile pieces on behalf of the site on Saturday, 7
May 2005.
 The
collection of quilts and wall hangings have been invited to be a
special feature of the second Australian Quilt Convention to be held
in Melbourne, Victoria during January 2006, with a possible tour to
regional Victorian cities and towns to follow.
One of the most exciting
developments from the project is the possibility that could see the
pieces shown in Liverpool during 2007-2008 when that city is the
nominated City of European Culture and will host an exciting year long
festival. The festival will be under the direction of
internationally known Australian, artist, performer and Festive
Director, Robyn Archer.
Ms Archer has directed
the famous Adelaide Festival, Melbourne Festival and has just
successfully delivered three cultural festivals for Tasmania, the
highly acclaimed Ten Days on the Island. She is the first
Australian ever appointed to direct a City of European Culture
Festival and has expressed great interest in the involvement of the
Contemporary Quilts exhibition. This involvement would be
particularly fitting as so many women from Liverpool and Irish women
commenced their journey to Australia from that city.
Departures
and Arrivals
(2003/2004)
On view in the
Matron's Cottage is a small display of some of the bonnets and
photos of this
exhibition. It is expected a more
comprehensive display, together with storyboards, will shortly be
installed in the cottage.
Metal
Rajah Quilt
 The
Metal Rajah Quilt was launched at the
Female Factory Muster in 2004 and is now
on permanent display at the Cascades Female Factory
Historic Site. Drop by and admire its craftsmanship!
The quilt honours the
original Rajah Quilt and its makers.
First, it had to be able to weather the weather
— to withstand the storms that parallel the storms
that had overtaken the lives of the convict women.
Second, it was not to be beautiful in the conventional
sense — life for the Rajah women was not beautiful.
The recycled metal
signifies the strength and resilience of the Rajah
women. The patchwork pieces cut from abandoned
and discarded items have been brought together to
make a new and unrelated object. This act draws
a parallel with the women of the Rajah, cut
from their old lives and cobbled together to make
a new life.
The spaces represent
the loss of family, friends and homeland, and the
void into which they were travelling. What was
ahead for the Rajah women?
 The
birds are both migrating birds of passage and
blue birds of happiness, the utopian dream.
They are also the armorial bearers of the central
panel. They hold aloft the inscribed plate in
honour of the women and children of the Rajah.
The metal quilt is 2m
by 2m, securely attached to a metal stand designed
to be bolted into a concrete base as a permanent structure.
It is made form recycled metal — copper, brass, iron
— with an engraved central brass panel listing the
women transported on the Rajah.
When the quilt was launched
at the
Female Factory Muster,
it received a lot of interest - and continues to do
so from visitors to the site.
Click on image to view at full size.
Made by
Senior Momentum — Frances Watson, Jennifer Line, Jan Barker, Sam
Murdoch, with assistance of many other members. Funding from the
Australian Government Regional Arts Fund and Women Tasmania.
Supported by Recovery Inc. |
