Some rooms in the Macquarie Street Gaol served as a temporary Hobart "Female Factory" in the mid-1820s. The Cascades Female Factory was purpose-built in 1828 and operated as a convict facility until 1856. It was intended to remove women convicts from the negative influences and temptations of Hobart, and also to protect society from what was seen as their immorality and corrupting influence. The Factory was located, however, in an area of damp swamp land, and with overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate food and clothes, there was a high rate of disease and mortality among its inmates. The Cascades Female Factory is the only remaining female factory with extant remains which give a sense of what female factories were like. It is included on the
Australian National Heritage List. It was inscribed on the World Heritage list in July 2010, along with ten other Australian convict sites. A design competition for a new History and Interpretation Centre was won by an international team composed of Tasmanian practice Liminal Studio, international firm
Snøhetta and Melbourne landscape architecture practice Rush Wright Associates in 2018. In 2020, the State Government committed $3 million towards the new $5 million Visitor and Interpretation Centre to enhance the storytelling experience and increase visitation. The Federal Government contributed the remaining $2 million. The Cascades Female Factory Historic Site was re-opened in March, 2022 with the launch of the new History and Interpretation Centre, with
Honourable Madeleine Ogilvie MP and
Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce delivering keynote speeches. == Gallery ==