Female Factory Nicknames

A growing list of nicknames given to the Parramatta Female Factory by the wordsmiths who penned the “Police Reports” columns in various contemporary newspapers. 

  • Bell’s Aviary [after Matron Sarah Bell]
  • Gordon House [after Matron Ann Gordon]
  • Gordon’s Aviary
  • Gordon’s Dancing Academy
  • Gordon’s house of call
  • Gordon’s infallible remedy
  • Gordon’s Magazine des modes
  • Gordon’s Paradise
  • Gordon’s Refectory
  • Gordon’s School
  • Gordon’s Snuggery
  • Gordon’s Taming Cage
  • Mrs Gordon’s Boudoir
  • Mrs Gordon’s Lodge
  • Mrs Gordon’s Retreat
  • Mrs Gordon’s School for Servants
  • Mrs Gordon’s School of Reform
  • Mrs Gordon’s Seclusion
  • Mrs Gordon’s Seminary
  • Mrs Gordon’s Villa
  • Parramatta Convict Factory
  • Parramatta Place of Penitence and Labour
  • That Pest-House of Abomination
  • That Sink of Iniquity
  • The Absolutionary
  • The Nunnery
  • The Parramatta Conservatory
  • The Parramatta School of Reform
  • The Penal Seraglio at Parramatta
  • The Penitentiary
  • The Receptacle for Bolters
  • The Receptacle of Vice and Laziness
  • The Villa