Some rooms in the Macquarie Street Gaol served as a temporary Hobart "Female Factory" in the mid-1820s.

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.

[4] It was inscribed on the World Heritage list in July 2010, along with ten other Australian convict sites.

[5] 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.

[8] 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.