Notes |
Pioneer business woman with interests in shipping and property. Mar
y Reibey, baptised Molly Haydock, was born on 12 May 1777 in Bury, Lan
cashire, England. Following the death of her parents, she was reared b
y a grandmother and sent into service. She ran away, and was arreste
d for horse stealing in August 1791. Sentenced to seven years' transpo
tation, she arrived in New South Wales on the Royal Admiral in Octobe
1792. On 7 September 1794, 17-year-old Mary married Thomas Raby
, a junior officer on the store ship Britannia. Raby also used the sur
ames Raiby, Reiby and Reibey interchangeably, but the family adopte
d the spelling Reibey in later years. Thomas Raby was granted land o
the Hawkesbury River, where he and Mary lived and farmed following t
heir marriage. He commenced a cargo business along the Hawkesbury Rive
to Sydney, and later moved to Sydney. Thomas Reibey's business unde
takings prospered, enabling him in 1804 to build a substantial ston
e residence on a further grant of land near Macquarie Place. He acquir
ed several farms on the Hawkesbury River, and traded in coal, cedar, f
urs and skins. He entered into a partnership with Edward Wills, and tr
ading activities were extended to Bass Strait, the Pacific Islands and
, from 1809, to China and India. When Thomas Reibey died on 5 April 1
811, Mary assumed sole responsibility for the care of seven children a
d control of numerous business enterprises. She was no stranger to th
is task, having managed her husband's affairs during his frequent abse
ces from Sydney. Now a woman of considerable wealth, Mary Reibey con
tinued to expand her business interests. In 1812 she opened a new ware
house in George Street and in 1817 extended her shipping operations wi
th the purchase of further vessels. By 1828, when she gradually retire
d from active involvement in commerce, she had acquired extensive prop
erty holdings in the city. In the emancipist society of New South Wal
es she had gained respect for her charitable works and her interest i
the church and education. She was appointed one of the Governors o
f the Free Grammar School in 1825. On her retirement, she built a hou
se at Newtown, Sydney, where she lived until her death on 30 May 1855
. Five of her seven children had predeceased her. An enterprising an
d determined person of strong personality, during her lifetime Mary Re
ibey earned a reputation as an astute and most successful business wom
an in the colony of New South Wales. Her standing is recognised by he
image which appears on the Australian $20 banknote. She is the onl
y person in the whole history of the world who was convicted in crime
s against property (or any other non-political crimes) and still has h
is or her image on national currency. Sources: http://www.rba.gov.au/
CurrencyNotes/NotesInCirculation/bio_mary_reibey.html http://www.grand
papencil.net/austral/reiby.htm
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