Women convicts in Australia

Do you have a woman convict in your family tree? Was she sent to either New South Wales or Van Diemen's Land between 1788 and 1853? You want to fill out that family history to include more than just names and dates; you want to know what life was like for these women sent miles from home into an uncertain future.

There are many websites now being created about the lives of these women.

Look at the female factory research group at the Cascades in VDL They have many snippets of information including:

• a case of bigamy
• love letters
• escape from the factory
• female prison discipline
• lists of infants dying at the factory

Want to hand or machine sew a bonnet? Christina Henri plans to create four bonnet installations to be exhibited on International Women's Day in March 2008. Each installation will be similar and will be placed at sites relevant to the convict women’s departure from the United Kingdom and arrival in Australia. If you wish to participate in this project, please contact Christina on 0407 575 018 or email her at cjhenri@iinet.net.au.

One in seven present day Australians is descended from a female relative who was sent to the Parramatta female factory in NSW.

Make sure you look at all the other links on these pages.