The Cascades Female Factory Audio Experience
The Cascades Female Factory Audio Experience provides an overview of the history of the site as well as the stories of the women and children that spent time here. Most of the structures and buildings that made up the Cascades Female Factory have been removed or lost with time. Today, you can take your time as you wander through the space and listen to true tales of the courage, resourcefulness and resilience of the women lived, worked and aspired to a better life outside these same walls. The audio experience fills in the space between then and now.
The Cascades Female Factory Audio Experience
Chapter 17: The Matron's Quarters (Location: Yard 4)
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The Matron’s Quarters is the only original building remaining on the historic site.
If at Cascades Female Factory, we recommend you listen to this chapter by the Matron’s verandah (stop 17).
The Matron herself lived in the cottage you can see at the end of the Yard. The Matron’s Quarters is the only remaining original building on the historic site. It is very intriguing to see a domestic dwelling in place like this.
The first Matron to live here was Charlotte McCullagh.
Born in Ireland, she arrived in Hobart on May 28, 1851 on board the ship Blackfriar with her sister, Elizabeth. Charlotte took up her post as Matron less than a month later.
It was an unprecedented move, appointing a single woman as Matron and the first time the roles of Matron and Superintendent had not been filled by a married couple.
Elizabeth became Assistant Matron in December 1852 and it is believed she lived next door to her sister, in the sub-matron’s cottage. This building was demolished within 20 years or so of it being built. Thankfully, archaeological excavation uncovered the original layout of the cottage. Wander through to get a sense of the size of this home, and its proximity to the convicts and the Matron. It was not unusual for staff of convict institutions to live on site but it must have felt that they too, like the convicts, were under constant surveillance.
For some time historians speculated that the bay window of the cottage allowed the Matron to keep an eye on the women and children from her parlour room. However, Charlotte told an Inquiry that she had nothing to do with the children in the Nursery.