The Floating Brothel

Based on the 2001 book of the same name by Sian Rees, “The Floating Brothel” tells the story of some of the women transported to Australia on the convict ship The Lady Juliana in 1789. As well as punishment, transportation of the women was supposed to supply the fledgling penal colony with sexual partners for the men already there, with the London Colonial Office ordering the women’s keepers to “promote a matrimonial connection to improve morals and secure settlement”. In the film, the stories of some of the women aboard The Lady Juliana - their backgrounds, their crimes, their journey, their fates in and effects upon the colony - are revealed to three of their modern-day descendants; Australian women who find out more than they bargained for about their convict ancestors. Narrated by Wendy Hughes.