Cascades Female Factory

The Cascades Female Factory operated from 1828 in a converted distillery in a damp valley below kunanyi, holding convict women assigned to labour, awaiting placement or under punishment. Conditions were severe: overcrowding, cold, and a nursery where infant mortality reached appalling levels. More than half of the convict women transported to Van Diemen's Land passed through it. In 2010 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as one of eleven Australian Convict Sites. Most of the buildings were demolished, so what remains is largely walls and foundations, interpreted through guided tours, an audio-visual introduction and the long-running dramatised performance Her Story.

What you actually see

• The yard walls - the surviving perimeter and foundations of the factory.
• The interpretation - guided tours and audio-visual accounts of the women's lives.
• Her Story - the dramatised performance staged on the site.
• The setting - the cold damp valley chosen for the institution.

When to go

Year-round; tours and performances run to a daily schedule with fewer sessions in winter. The site is largely open air and cold in Hobart's winter. Booking ahead is advisable for performances.

Honest expectations

Very little of the building fabric survives, so the experience depends on interpretation rather than architecture. The history is grim, particularly regarding infant deaths, and the tours do not soften it. Entry and performances are charged separately.

Nearby

Hobart's centre is fifteen minutes away; kunanyi rises directly above.