Parramatta Female Factory Historic Site Walking Tour

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Over the last couple of years, I have put together a couple of articles on the historic events that have occurred at the Parramatta Female Factory. They are "It's a Riot" 22/09/16 and "Herstory" on the 30/01/17.
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Having carried out a fair amount of research on putting g together these articles, I finally decided to go on the which is conducted on the first Friday of the month by the **Friends of the Parramatta Female Factory.
**[/LINK] This walking tour takes between one to two hours and takes you through the grounds of the Cumberland Hospital site, where you will learn more about the workings of the Parramatta Female Factory.

It was the second of 13 female factories in the colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. The first was on the top floor above the Parramatta Gaol in what is now Prince Alfred Square (formerly known as Gaol Green and Hanging Green). In New South Wales, other female factories were also established Prince Alfred Square, Bathurst, Newcastle and Port Macquarie.

To get yourself onto the tour, you will need to book in prior to the first Friday of the month. Send an email to [email protected] This can be either for individuals or group bookings.

The cost for the tour is $5 per person and the proceeds go towards the fight to keep these historic buildings for all to see.



The tour starts sharply at 10am and your volunteer tour guide for the day will meet you at gate five at No 5 Fleet Street North Parramatta. There is no parking on site, but when I went there, I found plenty of 4-hour parking in the surrounding streets.



As this historic site is still a working hospital, you will need to take care when being taken around the site by your tour guide as there is still plenty of restoration going on and people coming and going for admissions and appointments.





During the walk, your tour guide will take you to various spots on the grounds where you will see where the foundation stone was laid by Governor Macquarie back on the 9th of July 1818. The sandstone for this building was quarried from across the road at the entrance where you met at gate five.





The Governor Macquarie & Francis Greenway site once housed at least 5,000 of the 24,960 convict women that were transported to Australia. They were women who were simply convicts transported to Sydney for various reasons and who spent time in a convict female factory.

You will be able to view from the outside two Greenway Buildings, original 1810 and 1830's sandstone walls, 1820s third class sleeping quarters and courtyard, the original clock and bell as well as many more architectural features.


Another interesting fact is that the original asylum was built on the site of the Parramatta Female Factory in 1883.

While walking around the site, you should also take the time to be amazed at some of the trees and plants that have been there for years.





If you are a history enthusiast and are into Australian history, this one to two-hour tour will have you amazed as to what is to be seen on this tour and the tour guide (Anne) that I had the pleasure of meeting on the day had so much knowledge about the site of the old Parramatta Female Factory that you should ask plenty of questions at the end of the tour.



One other very interesting occasion that is up and coming is the Bicentenary of the National Heritage Listed Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned female convict Parramatta Female Factory Commemoration of the laying of the foundation stone that will be held on Saturday 7th July 2018 to celebrate & acknowledge the National significance of the earliest and most intact female convict site in Australia.

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