Mary Reibey
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Mary Reibey (12 May 1777 - 30 May 1855) (also spelled 'Reiby', 'Raby', and 'Raiby'[1]) was born Mary Haydock in England. At the age of thirteen, she was arrested and convicted of horse stealing. In 1790 she was transported to the colony of New South Wales to serve out her sentence.
Landing in Sydney in 1792 she was assigned to a military officer and given the duties of nursemaid in his household.
In 1794, she married Thomas Reiby, formerly of the East India Company. Thomas soon branched out on his own as Entally House. At the beginning of 1803, Thomas owned three boats and traded coals and wheat up the Hawkesbury and Hunter rivers. By 1807, Thomas had bought a schooner for trading with the Pacific Islands. He fell ill after a voyage to India in 1809; his health never fully recovered.
After her husband's death in 1811, Mary was left with seven children and control of Entally House which by then included rural properties, sealing operations in Bass Strait, as well as overseas trading.
Thanks to enterprise and hard work, Mary Reibey became one of the most successful businesswomen in the colony. With her new affluence came the hard-earned reward of respectability: Mary was now part of Governor Macquarie's social set.
Mary opened a new warehouse in 1812, enlarging her fleet with the purchase of two more ships by 1817. In 1820, Mary returned to England with her daughters.
On returning to Sydney she began buying property, starting several building projects in the centre of town. Mary was quickly able to retire and live on her investments.
In 1825, in recognition of her interest in church, education and charity, Mary was appointed one of the governors of the Free Grammar School.
Her later years were spent in Newtown, where she lived the remainder of her life until her death in 1855.
In recognition of her philanthropy, Mary Reibey's likeness appears on the front of the Australian 20 dollar banknote.
[edit] References
- Irvine, N, Mary Reibey: Molly Incognito, Library of Australian History, 1982.
- Irvine, N (ed), Dear Cousin: The Reibey Letters, Hale & Irenmonger, 1995.
- Pike, D (ed), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 2, Melbourne University Press, 1968.
- Radi, H (ed), 200 Australian Women, Women's Redress Press, 1988.
