The conclusion of Dr Christina Henri’s long term project commemorating female convicts transported to Australia will be celebrated on Sunday 10 May with a living art installation on Hunter Street.
What has come to be known as the “Bonnet Project” was initiated to honour the 25,566 convict women transported to Australia, and to raise awareness of the female convict story. To date, bonnets have been received from all over Tasmania, every state in Australia and from many countries overseas. This event marks the completion of the project.
“The bonnet event marks an eight year journey of the “Roses from the Heart” memorial project. The bonnet tribute pays respect to the lives and contribution made by Australia’s colonial exiled founding women. It has been enormously successful with people from across Australia and overseas taking part by making and embellishing their own bonnets. Mother’s Day was chosen as a symbolic day to hold the event in recognition of the contribution of our colonial grandmothers”, says long term artist in residence, Dr Christina Henri.
Lord Mayor Sue Hickey will officially launch the event at which participants will don a bonnet to honour the women that were incarcerated at the Cascades Female Factory. Participants do not need to have convict women ancestry, just the willingness to engage in the history of convict women. This poignant vision will be captured from the air with the use of a remotely piloted aircraft.
Chair of the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA) Board Professor Sharon Sullivan AO said, “We are proud of this collaboration between the Cascade Female Factory and Dr Christina Henri which has done so much to commemorate the women involved in convict transportation to Australia and we are pleased that it will be marked with such a fitting tribute.”
To finalise this commemoration, an Open Day will be held at Cascades Female Factory from 12pm – 4pm. Entry to the Site will be free and the recently refurbished Matron’s Cottage, will be open for inspection. Featuring a short performance by Judith Cornish of “Mary’s Monologue” and several Heritage Tours, the Open Day will provide valuable insight to the convict women’s story and a wonderful opportunity for visitors to experience the Cascades Female Factory as it stands today.
Kate McCarthy Acting Marketing Manager Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority
