Mary Reibey was born Molly Haydock, on the 12th of May 1777, in Lancashire, England. Both her parents died when she was just two years old and Molly was raised by her grandmother. When Molly’s grandmother died, none of her extended family would take her, so Molly became a servant in the home of a wealthy neighbour. The strong-wiled girl hated the life of a servant and she hatched a plan to run away.
In 1791, disguised as a boy and calling herself James Burrow, Molly stole a horse and tried to sell it in a local inn. Some of the customers recognised the horse and had ‘James’ arrested. ‘He’ was tried and sentenced to seven years’ transportation to New South Wales. When ‘James Burrow’ was having a pre-embarkation medical examination ‘he’ was found to be a girl, Molly Haydock. The magistrate, trying to spare her the sentence of transportation, asked if any of her family were willing to take care of her. They all refused, not wanting to have such a wayward girl in any of their families.
Molly Haydock arrived in Sydney aboard the ‘Royal Admiral’ in October 1792. She was fifteen years old. It must have seemed like a double sentence to her when she was placed in service again, assigned as a nursemaid to the children of Major Francis Grose. Seeking to escape from her life as a servant, she accepted the third proposal of marriage from Thomas Reibey, a former junior naval officer. They were aboard the store ship ‘Britannia’ on the 17th of September 1794. Molly changed her name to Mary on her marriage.
Thomas Reibey was given a grant of land on the Hawkesbury River, which he and Mary farmed. Their farmhouse, ‘Reibycroft’, is now listed on the Register of the National Estate. With a watery highway to Sydney at his door, Thomas began a cargo business that became highly successful. He built a stone mansion near Macquarie Place and increased his business holdings. He formed a partnership with Edward Wills, trading with New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, China and India. Whenever he was away, Mary took charge of their businesses at home.
Mary and Thomas had seven children, and when Thomas died on the 5th of April 1811, Mary was left with their care, plus all the business enterprises. A month later Edward Wills died, and the total of all their business enterprises fell on Mary’s shoulders. She had risen from her convict beginnings to wealth and respectability within the colony. Governor Lachlan Macquarie greatly admired her for her success.
Mary was, however, well up to the work in which she found herself. She gradually increased her landholdings and had many substantial buildings erected on them in central Sydney. In 1817, Mary became one of the founders of the Bank of New South Wales, Australia’s first bank. Her picture is on the $20 banknote. In October 1982 the Bank of New South Wales changed its name to Westpac. It is one of Australia’s four leading banks. Now Mary began to involve herself in a range of charitable activities, and in 1825 was made a governor of the Free Grammar School.
As time went by, Mary gradually withdrew from business, leaving her many enterprises in the hands of her children. She died in Newtown, New South Wales, in one of her mansions on the 30th of May 1855.
Copyright, Bernadette Mercer, 18/08/2021
Trailblazing Women of Australia 