IT is hoped that remnants of buildings from Bathurst's early years can be uncovered in coming weeks.
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Councillor Jacqui Rudge said a project close to her heart had successfully obtained a $2500 grant under Bathurst Regional Council's interpretation fund and that money was about to be put to use.
"That's to do some ground-penetrating radar with a forensic archaeologist and criminologist from Sydney," she said.
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The professional that has been engaged, Dr Louise Steding, will be in Bathurst on Friday to examine sites in and around Charlotte Street and the lower end of William Street.
Cr Rudge has been working on the project with the Bathurst Family History Group, of which she is a member, and local historian Dr Rob McLachlan. They are hopeful of finding concrete evidence of Bathurst's colonial past.
"We're looking at hopefully finding remnants possibly of the superintendent's house, the jailer's house, the police officers' quarters and the police office. We're searching around the area opposite where the female factory was, where the Girl Guides hall is now situated in Charlotte Street," she said.
After completing the radar investigations, Dr Steding will return to Bathurst in November to deliver her findings.
Cr Rudge said the investigations into Bathurst's past would be "a really exciting event" for the city and she hoped to get the community involved.
She said she would like to see community members come to the site any time between 9am and 3pm on Friday to see how ground-penetrating radar works.
The Bathurst Family History Group also plans to recognise the work of colonial women, which will be through the presentation of a plaque in 2020 that acknowledges the women who were placed in the female factory.
"As Dr Rob was saying, the Bathurst Female Factory was the only female factory in inland Australia," Cr Rudge said.
"Locating traces of this building and its adjacent structures can only serve to allow better understanding and appreciation of the importance of the site in the history of not only Bathurst, but equally so of Australia.
"Bathurst is playing a big part, hopefully, in this and I hope we find some remnants in that area."
Bathurst's female factory operated from 1833-44 and was once home to 1500 women - all convicts - who were sent to the settlement for a specific purpose.
While manufacturing was undertaken at some female factories, the Bathurst factory provided skilled labour for farmers.
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