Is the first Memorial to all women sentenced to transportation as convicts to Australia (1788-1853). 25,566 cloth bonnets (taken from an 1860s servants bonnet) symbolises the women whose lives have been shrouded by a veil of amnesia for far too long.
Another blue sky day at the Cascades Female Factory Historic site.
Christina Henri enjoyed the opportunity to chat with visitors to the site including people from overseas - Ireland and France and also from the Australian States of Victoria and Western Australia.
Christina Henri would like to thank Frances McAlpine for the lovely bonnet tribute for Ann Hall
of the
Patches of Cooroy Craft Club. Postcode 4563
Work in Yard Four (south) at the Cascades Female Factory Historic Site almost completed.
Christina Henri visited Narryna Heritage Museum today. Another amazing colonial site. well worth visit. Christina first visited the site in 2003. Her examination of the costume collection at the site prompted her art ‘900 Bonnets’ ‘Departures and Arrivals’ and her latest work Roses from the Heart(R).
The Hobart Museum Pass allows visitors to access the Maritime Museum of Tasmania, Markree House Museum and Garden, Narryna Heritage Museum and the Cascades Female Factory Historic Site at a great value price.
For more information see: http://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/55593/Hobart_museum_pass_brochure.pdf
Another bundle of fantastic bonnet tributes have arrived and are being catalogued ready to be taken overseas to the planned ‘Blessing of the Bonnets’ in London in 2013. This event will be publicised once all the 25,566 bonnet tributes have arrived. Christina Henri will be taking ‘all the girls’ [symbolically] ‘back home’ prior to the installation becoming a permanent public Memorial.
Thank you to all the bonnet makers, participants and supporters of Roses from the Heart. See more images on FaceBook. Christina Henri - Roses from the Heart
Yard Four (south) at the Cascades Female Factory Historic Site looking at the newly constructed Gabion wall footings that interpret the outline of the cottage that once existed here, opposite the Matron’s Cottage. The Matron’s Cottage still remains today as the only existing building at this Australian Convict World Heritage Site.
If you are interested to help support Roses from the Heart(r) please consider purchasing a CD. The songs relate to convict women and there are a number of brand new songs and music written specifically for this album. Christina Take Me Home (Fred Rea/Fiona Rea 2010) performed by Fiona Rea and Lateisha Boucher won the People’s Choice, Song of the Year, WAMI AWARDS, in Western Australia in 2010. The song relates to Christina Henri taking the 25,566 bonnets, signifying the convict women, back to from whence they came - to the British Isles and the Republic of Ireland.
CDs can be ordered through the website: www.christinahenri.com.au <http://www.christinahenri.com.au/>
To date Christina needs 3,797 bonnets to reach the target number of 25,566 bonnet tributes.
All the bonnets will return to Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. There will be a major blessing of the bonnets in a London Cathedral. Eventually the bonnets will return to Tasmania to become a permanent public installation.
Bonnet worn for the An Gorta Mor memorial ceremony in Dublin, Ireland. Roses from the Heart bonnet in memory of the Irish convict women, many of whom were transported during the years of the An Gorta Mor. Photos supplied to Christina Henri by Olivia Blanch.
The gate at the Cascades Female Factory that once served as a connection between Yard Three and Yard Four (south) has finally been uncovered on the Yard Three side to reveal aged, decayed wood that in parts has rotted away.
Jo Lyngcoln, the Port Arthur Site Historic Management Authority Conservation Manager has been overseeing the work in both Yard Four (north) and (south) and meaningful improvements to the site are underway.
Entally House is a treat awaiting the cultural tourist visiting Tasmania. If you have an interest in colonial homesteads this ‘property is a ‘must see.
Entally was built in 1819 by Thomas Reibey, the eldest son of Mary Reibey. Mary, a former convict became one of Australia’s wealthiest women. She obtained the grant of 300 acres of land upon which Thomas was to settle and build the homestead and outbuildings.
Mary was a highly skilled entrepeneur and her accomplishments have been recognised by the inclusion of her features on the Australian $20 note.
For more information see: www.entally.com.au
When I visited yesterday I was fascinated to see the markings at ground level on one of the outbuildings. The arch of a doorway is very evident. An archeological dig would be able to ascertain what the space was originally used for. The design matches a similar entrance to an underground cellar space within the homestead.
Site Manager, Phil Baker, is planning some wonderful events and a Making their Mark bonnet tribute for Mary Reibey will feature in an upcoming event. The bonnet will be created by Tasmanian lacemaker Joyce Mackey who is connected to Mary Reibey. Descendants of Mary Reibey are encouraged to contact Phil Baker re forth coming events. See contact details on the Entally House website.
Bonnet tribute for Mary Ann Keith and her baby John who died at the Ross Female Factory. The bonnets have been made by Laura McClelland from County Down, Northern Ireland and are part of my memorial ‘Making their Mark’ which highlights specific convict women and related heritage sites. George Town historian Lorraine Wootton who is connected to Mary Ann Keith attended the event yesterday at the Commandant’s Cottage, Ross Female Factory. Lorraine has made bonnet tributes to Mary Ann and her son John as part of my Memorials Roses from the Heart and Departures and Arrivals.
