The Brickfields Hiring Depot was a building located in North Hobart on the site of the current

North Hobart Oval North Hobart Oval is a Stadium, sports venue in North Hobart, Tasmania, used for Australian rules football. History North Hobart Oval started its existence as Hobart Town's brickfields in 1844 before becoming a Brickfields Hiring Depot, convi ...

. It was completed by the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

Department on 1 October 1842 and operated until 1852.

History

Female convicts were held there awaiting hire as probation pass holders from February 1842. Prior to 1844, the Brickfields was used as a place of confinement and punishment just as the Female Factories were. After 1844, the Brickfields was used as a convenience for . It was a reception centre for women discharged from the Anson. These women may have changed or lost their service. This meant that female convicts did not have to return to the Anson for a short period of time while they waited to be re-hired. It was not a Gaol or a Female Factory, but simply a depot for women serving probation. After its closure in November 1852, Brickfields became an immigration depot and later a pauper establishment.

References

{{coord , -42.8677 , 147.3162 Buildings and structures in Hobart Convictism in Tasmania North Hobart, Tasmania