Why Is Mary Reibey Important

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Mary Reibey today is known in our society as a successful and respected Australian business-woman, trader, and merchant. If we reflect on this, Mary wouldn’t have been this important woman that she is known to be today if it wasn’t for her crime she committed when she was just 13 years of age. Mary Reibey was migrated to Sydney, Australia and arrived in October 1792 due to her being caught in the act of horse-stealing. If we got the chance today to go to a new land and start anew it would be such a great experience of redemption. During the time she migrated Mary was just 15 years of age she might have felt as though it was terrible and unfair that she was moving to a new country, but later on in her greater years she was probably grateful …show more content…

If she never came to Sydney, Australia she would have never met her husband Thomas Reibey, meaning that she wouldn’t have had her family of 7 beautiful children and her successful lifestyle. Thomas’ hard-work in making his prosperous trading and merchant business played a big role and impacted the beginning of Mary’s accomplishments. When Thomas Reibey passed away on the 15th of April, 1811 as a result of being ill, Mary was given the full authority of looking after the children and also the full control on her husband’s business concerns. This then led to the start of her new career as a merchant business woman. After her husband’s passing, Mary Reibey gradually rose to be respected and wealthy in the new society. All in all we can see that Mary’s wealthy lifestyle has impacted from the start of Mary’s convict experience that sentenced her to 7 years in …show more content…

Her career path expanded to real-estate, she became a key property investor and purchased buildings in the Sydney city district in streets that are known today as George Street, Macquarie Place and Macquarie Street. Mary’s great achievements during her business life include when she was one of the people that founded the bank of NSW, which today is called Westpac and another accomplishment was in 1825 when she was announced as one of the governors of the Sydney Grammar school which is now known as the Sydney boy’s grammar school. Mary also participated in Charity works and she also took interest in the Anglican Religion. One of the greatest achievements I would say if Mary was alive today is being featured on the 20 dollar Australian money note; she would have been so honoured and grateful to be chosen to appear on one of our daily uses. Evidently, Mary’s career could have not been as advanced as it was when she migrated to Australia considering the fact that there was more exposure in a colonial