19 August 2008
Australia's female convicts
They were some of Australia's earliest white settlers, but suprisingly little is known about our first female convicts. There were 189 female convicts in the First Fleet and up until the 1850s, thousands of women prisoners were forced to live in "female factories", upon arrival in Australia. The local wool industry was just beginning and these convict women were the first to work in the mills, sewing and weaving the nation's early textiles. Now a new exhibition takes a look at the difficult lives of these women, trying to survive, a long way from home. The exhibition is currently touring the country and organisers say they hope they'll learn more about Australia's female convicts along the way.
Guests
Gay Hendrikson
Curator, Women Transported
Beth Mathews
Volunteer, Women Transported
Carol Liston
Assosciate Professor, Unvesity of Western Sydney
Further Information
Reporter
Madeleine Genner
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