Ross Female Factory Chapel

The following information is from the Female Convicts Research Centre Inc website:

The Ross Female Factory operated towards the end of the transportation period from March 1848 until November 1854. It served as a factory as well as hiring depot, an overnight station for female convicts travelling between settlements, a lying-in hospital and a nursery.

A factory was deemed necessary in the 'interior' as many female convicts were hired as probation pass-holders in areas at a distance from both Launceston and Hobart, particularly in the Campbell Town area. It was also needed to ameliorate the overcrowding in the other female factories.

When it opened, Dr Irvine was appointed joint Superintendent and Medical Officer at the Factory, and his wife was appointed as Matron. The death rate of babies and children was much lower at Ross Female Factory than at either Launceston Female Factory or Cascades Female Factory.

After the factory was closed the Police Department took over most of the establishment, though the chapel was used by the Roman Catholic Church.