| [Index] |
| Mary HAYDOCK (1777 - 1855) |
| Children | Self + Spouses | Parents | Grandparents | Greatgrandparents |
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Celia REIBEY (1802 - 1823) Eliza REIBY (1805 - ) |
Mary HAYDOCK (1777 - 1855) + Thomas (REIBY) (RABY) REIBEY (1775 - 1811) |
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Pic P1. Held in the State Library of NSW Pic S1. Ancestry - Pastoralists, Politicians & Professionals Pic 1. Held in the State Library of NSW Pic 3. Sunday Telegraph 14 Feb 2010 Pic 4. Argyle & Playfair Streets, On side of Legacy Fountain, The Rocks , 2000 Pic 7. Ancestry - Pastoralists, Politicians & Professionals Pic 8. Ancestry - Pastoralists, Politicians & Professionals |
| b. 12 May 1777 at Bury, Lancashire, England |
| m. 07 Sep 1794 Thomas (REIBY) (RABY) REIBEY (1775 - 1811) at Camden, NSW, Australia |
| d. 30 May 1855 at Newtown, Sydney, NSW, Australia aged 78 |
| Near Relatives of Mary HAYDOCK (1777 - 1855) | ||||||
| Relationship | Person | Born | Birth Place | Died | Death Place | Age |
| Self | Mary HAYDOCK | 12 May 1777 | Bury, Lancashire, England | 30 May 1855 | Newtown, Sydney, NSW, Australia | 78 |
| Husband | Thomas (REIBY) (RABY) REIBEY | abt 1775 | 05 May 1811 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 36 | |
| Daughter | Celia REIBEY | 1802 | Camden, NSW, Australia | 28 Sep 1823 | NSW, Australia | 21 |
| Daughter | Eliza REIBY | 1805 | Camden, NSW, Australia | |||
| Son in Law | Thomas WILLS | 05 Aug 1800 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 29 Jul 1872 | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 71 |
| Granddaughter | Alice WILLS | 06 May 1823 | Camden, NSW, Australia | 14 Apr 1824 | NSW, Australia | 0 |
| Events in Mary HAYDOCK (1777 - 1855)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| 12 May 1777 | Mary HAYDOCK was born | Bury, Lancashire, England | see newspaper article | ||
| 07 Oct 1792 | 15 | Immigration | Port Jackson, NSW, Australia | Note 1 | |
| 07 Sep 1794 | 17 | Married Thomas (REIBY) (RABY) REIBEY (aged 19) | Camden, NSW, Australia | Note 2 | 52 |
| 1802 | 25 | Birth of daughter Celia REIBEY | Camden, NSW, Australia | Note 3 | 52, 55 |
| 1805 | 28 | Birth of daughter Eliza REIBY | Camden, NSW, Australia | Note 4 | 52 |
| 05 May 1811 | 33 | Death of husband Thomas (REIBY) (RABY) REIBEY (aged 36) | Sydney, NSW, Australia | Note 5 | 52 |
| 28 Sep 1823 | 46 | Death of daughter Celia REIBEY (aged 21) | NSW, Australia | Note 6 | 52, 55 |
| 30 May 1855 | 78 | Mary HAYDOCK died | Newtown, Sydney, NSW, Australia | Note 7 | 52 |
| Personal Notes: |
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Sydney Gazette 16 March 1811 - By Order of His Excellency the Governor, JOHN THOMAS CAMPBELL, Secretary.
Names of Persons at Sydney who have received Spirit Licenses in February, 1811. Names. Place of Residence. Mary Raby - Macquarie place Edward Wills - George street The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter 24 Jan 1818 Same day arrived from Port Jackson the brig Governor Macquarie, Captain Thomas Reibey, (this would be Mary's son) with Merchandize, after a 10 days passage; having on board Richard Collyer, one of the principal leaders of the late bush-rangers who infested this Colony for some time back; sent here to be executed, pursuant to his sentence at the late Criminal Sessions at Sydney. - Passengers, Edward Luttrell and Jacob Mountgarrett, Esqrs, Surgeons of this Settlement and Port Dalrymple; Mr. Leith, lnspector of Public Works at the latter place; Mr. Jemott and Mr. Wade, of Hobart Town; and the various persons lately sent up as evidences on trials; also, Mrs. Reiby and her eldest daughter, Miss Celia; Mr. White, lately from England by the Duke of Wellington, a free settler; and the two eldest sons of the late Matthew Bowden, Esq. Sydney Morning Herald 5 July 1905 RELICS OF OLD SYDNEY -*- TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD. Sir,-Permit me to correct an error - a very common one in your paragraph re above, and appearing in the "Herald" of to-day, in which it is stated that Reiby Cottage was the residence of Margaret Catchpole. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Reiby and Margaret Catchpole were two different persons, and it is very doubtful if ever the latter saw Reiby Cottage. Mrs. Reiby, then a single woman, arrived in Port Jackson per ship Royal Admiral, October 7, 1792, and Married Mr. Thomas Raby, 7th September, 1794. (Their son changed the name to Reiby.) Mr. Reiby (as Raby) died 5th May, 1811, and was burled in the George-street burial ground, but when this old cemetery was resumed, his remains were removed to the Devonshire-street burial ground. After his death his widow carried on business both in her own name and in conjunction with her son-in-law, Mr. Wills. One of the first spirit licenses issued in Sydney bore her name, and during the Macquarie period she received grants of land at Hunter's Hill, on the Hawkesbury, and down to Shoalhaven. She died 30th May, 1855, and was buried alongside her husband in Devonshire-street, but their grave, like most others, has been removed to La Perouse to make room for the new railway station. Australian Womens Weekly 6 March 1974 - 'Behind the Legend' an ABC - TV production Mary Reiby. who was transported for stealing a horse and became a highly successful Sydney businesswoman, is shown on her visit to England with the equivalent of a million dollars. She and her daughter Celia are received by the Prince Regent. http://scratchingsydneyssurface.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/8-february-2013-mary-reibey/ Stanmore House, built 1847-55 by Mary Reibey for her daughter, Elizabeth, is worthy of a visit although you’d never know it was there from looking at the Enmore Road frontage – it was encased in dark brick in the 1930s (??) when the house was divided into flats. Head down Pemell Lane, behind the Enmore Theatre, and the original house is visible, run-down and crumbling, but still glorious. Mary Reibey’s own house, built in the 1840s and where she lived until her death in 1855, was further along Enmore Road, going towards Newtown; the exact site of the house is said to be on the corner of Station Street and Pemell Lane, where the high-rise apartment building now stands. Mary’s land-holdings along the Enmore Road totalled some 21 acres. ************** Sydney Morning Herald 5 July 1911 - Pioneer Australians PIONEER AUSTRALIANS. THE WAREHOUSE WOMAN. Conspicuous among the first traders of Australia, in the historic records, appears the name of Mrs. Mary Reiby. She reached Sydney during the regime of Governor Hunter, in the Royal Admiral, and soon took up business somewhere near the head of the Tank Stream. She was but 20 years of age when she opened a general store in one of the rude structures with the poor furniture that the working people then had. By indefatigable industry and good fortune she soon acquired considerable property. There were then few merchants in Sydney, and many of the military officers held a stern monopoly ot the Government stores, and In a highhanded way kept the sales of goods entirely under their own control. About this time there arrived in Sydney Captain Thomas Reiby, who brought out a cargo of merchandise in his own vessel, and lt was whilst doing business with the pioneer lady trader that he was so struck by her personality that he asked her to be his wife, and an arrangement was made for him to keep the coastal trade whilst she kept the store in Sydney. Thus Miss Mary Haydock, daughter of James Haydock, yeoman, of Ipswich, became Mrs. Reiby, the marriage being performed by the Rev. Richard Johnson, assisted by the Rev. Samuel Marsden. Reiby-lane is the locality where their warehouse stood, between Pitt-street and Macquarie Place still called by that name. Very soon a new store was put up, being more commodious, in order to take in the provisions which the captain brought in his regular trips to the Hawkesbury River the granary of the young colony. Near by was Simeon Lord's store; Andrew Thompson also had a warehouse, and Francis Cox had a smithy. The 'Raven' and the 'James' (Captain Reiby's vessels) made trips not only up the Hawkesbury, but as far as the Hunter River, for coals and timber; but unfortunately the James was wrecked (1804) near Broken Bay, when the captain and crew walked from the scene of the wreck to North Head, without food, and only imperfectly protected from the weather. Mrs. Reiby meantime went on with the trade in Sydney, getting, in I807, six shillings an ounce for tea and six shillings a pound for butter. Tobacco was twenty-four shillings a pound, coarse white calico five shillings a yard, men's hats tbreo guineas, sugar four shillings a pound, soap three shillings a pound, men's boots from two to three pounds a pair, molasses ten shillings a gallon, and so on in proportion. Mrs. Reiby was a great favourite with Governor Hunter and Governor King, for she was always pleasant in her dealings, and as at that time the Governors had an Interest in the smallest matters of commerce, it was a great advantage to have the patronage of the vice-regals. After the deposition of Governor Bligh Mrs. Reiby tried to get her husband a land billet, he having been engaged for some years in bringing pork from Otaheiie for the Government, also spars, oil, and sealskins from Fiji. Lietuenant-Governor Paterson granted her request, and made him pilot of Port Jackson, the appointment being published in the "Gazette" of March 2G, 1800. In October, 1810, one finds that Mrs. Reiby had a fine cottage of six rooms in High-street (now George-street), on her own land. There she started a first-class hostelry, being specially licensed by Governor Macquarie, when he reduced the number of publicans to a favoured few. The hotel stood in a pretty garden of 2 roods 33 perches, having on one side Mr. W. H. Moore (the lawyer's) residence, corner of King and George streets, and the other the police station, now the site ot the General Post Office. Captain Reiby died young, being only 36 years when his decease was reported, "leaving a widow and a large family of children." He was among the first to rest in the Sandhills Cemetery, where the Central Railway Station now stands. Some years later the hotel was changed into a fine warehouse, where Mrs. Reiby notified the public that she had a stock of all sorts of merchandise. She was one of the first store- keepers to treat direct with English manufacturers. Special consignments advertised in the early papers under her name gave tho names of thc vessels in which her goods arrived; thus, "per Providence, Captain Barclay," etc. It is on record that she was consulted by the authorities not only on trading matters, but on the advantages of early colonial manufactures. She believed in every business being licensed, and regulations being established for suppressing imposition and unjust and unreasonable prices for food pro- ducts, clothing, and the- other common neces- sities of lite. She went on a visit to the old country in 1820, taking with her two daughters, Celia and Eliza. During the 12 months' tour through England and Scotland she kept a diary, which makes very interesting reading. She relates how she visited her native place. "We went to the old church at Bury, Lancashire, to procure the certificate of my age. The clerk and I went through the register book of parchment, and I discovered first that I was born May 12, 1777." Mrs. Reiby lived in Sydney for 30 years after this voyage, spending her leisured old age at Reiby Hall, Newtown, where she was visited by all the people connected with early times in the colony. . She was 55 years a colonist when she died. In the Devonshire street cemetery was recorded on a defaced stone, "Mary, widow of Mr. .Thomas Reiby. Born 12th, 1777; died May 30th, 1855." Captain and Mrs. Reiby had a son, who married Miss Richenda Allen, a daughter of the medical attendant upon George IV. She was sister to the Hon. George Allen, of Toxteth, Glebe. Their eldest son was the Hon. Thomas Reiby, who in 1887 was Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He was formerly a clergyman of the Church of England, and became archdeacon. He was Premier and Colonial Secretary of Tasmania also. The second son, James, became a clergyman, and was rector ot Denbury, in. Devonshire. One daughter. Mary Ellen, was married to a nephew of Governor Arthur, who was in command of Tasmania for 12 years from 1824. All the other daughters made good marriages. Error dies hard. It has been said that Mrs. Mary Reiby was the original of Cobbold's famous Margaret Catchpole. This error has been perfectly refuted by the registry book at St. Peter's Church. Richmond, which states that "Margaret Catchpole died in Richmond, 1819, and was burled in the Richmond Cemetery." Bishop Broughton speaks of Mrs. Reiby's piety and uprightness having endeared her to all her acquaintances. He spoke of her "as praiseworthy of the highest degree for her exertions in the cause ol religion and of the Church of England, scarcely to be paralleled by any instance I have ever known." MARY SALMON. *************************** http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/reibey-mary-2583 AUSTRALIAN DICTIONARY OF BIOGRAPHY Reibey, Mary (1777–1855) by G. P. Walsh This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, (MUP), 1967 Mary Reibey (1777-1855), née Haydock, businesswoman and trader, was born on 12 May 1777 in Bury, Lancashire, England. She was convicted of horse stealing at Stafford on 21 July 1790 and sentenced to be transported for seven years. When arrested she was dressed as a boy and went under the name of James Burrow, but at her trial her identity was disclosed. The whole episode which resulted in her conviction as a felon at the age of 13 and transportation to New South Wales was probably no more than a high-spirited escapade attributable to lack of parental control, for her parents were dead and she lived with her grandmother. She arrived in Sydney in the Royal Admiral in October 1792 and was assigned as a nursemaid in the household of Major Francis Grose. On 7 September 1794 she married in Sydney Thomas Reibey, a young Irishman in the service of the East India Co., whom she had met in the transport and who had returned to Sydney in the Britannia that year. Thomas Reibey (1769-1811) appears to have been the first free settler outside the military ring to trade. The first years of his married life were apparently spent on the Hawkesbury, where he acquired property and was engaged in the grain-carrying business; later he established himself near the waterside in what is now Macquarie Place and turned his former association with the East India Co. to advantage by importing general merchandise. He named his trading establishment Entally House, after a suburb in Calcutta. The scope of his business activity was indicated when in 1801 he became indebted to Robert Campbell senior for the sum of £160 10s., and in October 1803 he mortgaged to Campbell three Hawkesbury farms totalling 260 acres (105 ha), their buildings, crops, livestock, and boats, along with certain other property and buildings in Sydney, for a further credit advance of £150 to enable him to carry on his business. By 1803 he also owned three small boats, James, Edwin and Raven, and traded to the Hunter and Hawkesbury Rivers in coals, cedar and wheat. He entered into partnership with Edward Wills (1778?-1811) and was engaged in sealing in Bass Strait in 1805; in 1807 they bought the schooner Mercury for trade with the Pacific Islands. During the great Hawkesbury River floods of 1806 Reibey did heroic work and saved the lives of several people. He was appointed a pilot in Port Jackson in March 1809 which suggests that he thought of giving up the sea, but in October he undertook his last voyage to China and India made necessary by losses suffered in New South Wales. He left Sydney in the Lady Barlow and returned a year later in the Mary and Sally. He died at Entally House on 5 April 1811 after a lingering illness, the origin of which was attributed to a coup de soleil which he suffered while in India. Reibey appears to have been an astute trader and kept apart from the squabbles of Governor William Bligh and his antagonists. On the death of her husband and his partner Edward Wills a month later, Mary Reibey was left with seven children and in entire control of numerous business concerns. She was a hotel-keeper, and already had had experience in assisting her husband and managing his interests when he was absent on voyages; she soon became a very prosperous member of the group trained in the tough school of competition with American, Chinese and Indian traders. Unlike many of her contemporaries she was not litigious but proved capable of conducting her business affairs with the utmost vigour. Perhaps she preferred her own more direct methods to enforce payment of debts, for in May 1817 she was found guilty of an assault upon one of her debtors, John Walker, at Windsor. In the eyes of her contemporaries Mary Reibey gradually rose to respectability and affluence in the new emancipist society. She was a favourite of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. She opened a new warehouse in George Street in 1812 and continued to manage her husband's ships and extended her operations by buying the John Palmer and in 1817 the brig Governor Macquarie. In 1816 she advertised for sale all her property, which included seven farms on the Hawkesbury, with the intention of returning to England. She was then said to be worth about £20,000, and by 1820 held 1000 acres (405 ha) of land, half of them by grant. In March 1820 in the Admiral Cockburn she took her daughters Celia and Eliza to England, and in Lancashire amid the scenes of her childhood she was received with interest and admiration. After her return to Sydney next year with her daughters, her affairs continued to flourish. She made extensive investments in city property. By 1828 she had erected 'many elegant and substantial buildings in Macquarie Place, near the King's Wharf, and in the centre of George Street', and was turning her attention to Castlereagh Street. She gradually retired from active business and lived on her investments. Mary Reibey, persevering and enterprising in everything she undertook, became legendary in the colony as the successful businesswoman. She took an interest in the church, education and works of charity. In 1825 she was appointed one of the governors of the Free Grammar School. Later Bishop William Grant Broughton commended her exertions in the cause of religion generally and of the Church of England in particular. On her retirement she lived in the suburb of Newtown until her death on 30 May 1855. The peace of her later years was disturbed a little by the publication in 1845 of Rev. Richard Cobbold's book on Margaret Catchpole, which led to understandable rumours that she was the heroine of Cobbold's colourful story. Thomas and Mary Reibey's three sons, who founded the Tasmanian branch of the family, all followed their parents' lead in mercantile and shipping ventures. The eldest son, Thomas (b. 6 May 1796), went to sea with his father and in November 1822 became a partner of his brother as a general merchant and commission agent at Launceston, trading under the name of Thomas Reibey & Co. He died at his estate, Entally, Hadspen, near Launceston, on 3 October 1842. The second son, James Haydock (b.2 October 1798), was apprenticed in 1809 to John Campbell Burton, a merchant and agent from Bengal. In the 1820s he was trading in partnership with his elder brother and engaged in sealing and other coastal shipping activities. He was one of the first directors of the Derwent and Cornwall Banks in Van Diemen's Land in 1828. He originally settled near Hobart Town but later bought a property adjoining Entally and died in 1843. Of the four Reibey daughters, the youngest, Elizabeth Ann (b.1810), married Captain Joseph Long Innes. The surname was variously spelt as Raby, Rabey, and Reiby, but after the death of Thomas Reibey in 1811 Reibey was usually adopted by the family. ******************** This letter from Mary Haydock Reibey to her cousin, Alice, tells of the arrival of her sister, Elizabeth Haydock Foster and her children in Sydney in 1818. Sydney N.S.W. August 12, 1818 Dear Cousin Alice By a Gentleman Who Expects to come to Liverpool and which I believe is a Resident their I avail myself of the opportunity of letting you know that with myself my Family are all well and that of announcing the safe arrival of my dear sister and Family all well except herself which suffered severely during a passage of Five Months and 2 days but now thank God she is perfectly recovered and which added more to her disappointment was when she arrived I was Absent at Van-diemans Land wither I had gone to settle my affairs previous to my coming home as I had let my shop and whare houses as also all my farms but her arrival will detain me sometime longer as I do not wish to leave her and Mr Foster - Expects to get his Land and Indulgences and proceed with the Cultivation of itso that he can either let or sell it ......... ....... George is now at Vandiemans Land as I left him to collect the remainder of my Debt and Rents when I heard my sister had arrived I was very Impatient to see her so that she has not yet seen him I went down their in a Brig of my own Commanded by my Son Thomas and brought her up Loaded with which she is now gone after a Cargo of Cedar (Wood) for Building Mr Foster is gone in her I expect him in the course of six of eight weeks ........... .................. my sister begs of me to mention a book entitled the History of N.S. Wales that she left with a man in Byrons (shop?) next door to the (unreadable. perhaps Musicanarys) the first House as you turn the corner that is all the discription she can give she wishes you to get it for her if you can she whould do very well here Could she have her own way at her business and Mr Foster too but no one will do well that is not thrifty correct and sober this place is not like England you are under the eye of every one and your Character scrutinized by both rich and poor altho you may have a different oppinion of it through the different characters that comes here but they are kept in regular order by our good Governor Laclan Macqurie............ ............. those houses in Salford which did belong to me & my sister and which she has made over her interest in to your Mother I should wish if agreeable to Repurchase on my arrival in England the Bill is against me I have Recd by the hand (s?) of my sister which shall be attended too I can assure you my poor sister never mentions your Mother but with Tears and the Deepest Sorrow for her loss and altho I had not seen her for 27 years it had a great effect on me for almost the first interchange of words with my sister was to know if my aunt Hope was alive I do assure you the meeting of her was one of the happiest moments of my life and still more so knowing it was in my power to assist her as I consider her so deserving the protection of me and everyone who knows her She did not meet as good Treatment as might be expected on her passage Considering what she paid but had I been at home while the Capt of the ship was here I whould have actioned him but he sailed the day after I came home Little Eliza and James go to the same school as my 3 children who are Boarders they are fine company for each other and are very fond of each other little Eliza is (unreadable) notice here by every one she is such an agreeable little thing my youngest little girl and her are very much alike and is remarked almost by everyone my sister wished me particularly to mention to you how my Husband came here be was 2d officer and (Boatswain?) of the Brittania Whaler ship which was laying in the Harbour when I came here and he prevailed on the Captain to allow him to stay here (who was Guardian to him) I hope dear Cousin altho unknown to you but for the sake ofyour dear Mother you will write by every opportunity and by sending your lettersto Mrs Smith in London . Where my sister stayed she will be remitted I have nothing more at present to say except my sons and all my children desires their love to you and all your brothers my sister desires her Respectful Compliments to My Aunts Hind and Ramsbottom and to all Inquiring Friends and pray Remember me to them likewise and my sincere love to yourself and brothers Jane and Eliza send their love to you I am Dear Cousin yours - Affectionately M. Reibey My sister thinks it would be the best way for you to pay the postage to the Lands end of England and they are sure to come safe. ************************** Milne Family Tree - Ancestry Baptised as Mollie but known as Mary, her father died when she was only two years of age and as she was brought up by her grandmother, it is presumed her mother died whilst she was a child. She obviously was well educated, at the Free Grammar School, as her diary was well written and her descriptions of life were very observant.She ran away from her grandmother's home in Darwen Street, Bury in Jun 1791with another girl. Molly disguised herself as a boy and took the name James Borrow. On the way to Stafford she was overtaken by a man with two horses who asked her to ride one. They arrived in Stafford on 12 Aug 1791, where Mollie attempted to sell the horse and was caught and charged with stealing.Mollie was charged as James Borrow, nobody apparently noticing he was a girl, at Staffordshire Assizes 24 Aug 1791 :- "for feloniously stealing- Bay Mare, Value Ten Pounds, property of John Sorton, parish of St Mary- 13th August, 31st Yr of George the 3rd (1791)." A petition written at Blackburn and dated 5 Nov 1791 by family friends and influential residents, stated the truth about Mollie masquerading as a boy and how she was well educated and her family respected members of the community. In light of this petition , Judge Heath noted that the records were to be altered to Mary Haydock as the convicted person but felt she had been "too good an actress in that role" and felt she should be made a public example and was to be transported for seven years. Mollie was sent out to NSW on the "Royal Admiral" departing Gravesend 27 Apr 1792 and arriving 7 Oct 1792, on the ship's muster as Mary Haddock. She met Lieut. Thomas Reibey on board who helped her obtain work in the new colony.She survived as a nurse maid for the household of Lieut. Governor Major Francis Grose who was in charge of the new colony until a second governor was appointed. She married Thomas Reibey on 7 Sep 1794 and they lived on a farm at the Hawkesbury River, where their first son Thomas was born.For the first five years of their marriage, Reibey was occupied with the management of his mercantile affairs and his young wife took an active part in the management of the business, keeping accounts.A few prosperous years enabled him to build a warehouse and residence combined, which formed one of the most conspicuous buildings at the head of Sydney cove. It stood in the part of town known as Macquarie Place, and they called it "Entally" , the name of a pretty spot known to Reibey, near Calcutta in India Feb 16 1810, Mary was granted a licence to retail wines and spirits in Sydney (C.S.O. Reel 6038 SZ758 p. 19) After the death of her husband in 1811 the spelling of the name Reibey stabilized and she and the widow of her husband's late partner, Sarah Wills carried on the business. Aug 25, 1812 Mary was granted land at Macquarie Place, Sydney (Fiche 3268; 9/2731 pp 242-3)Mary sold their home, "Entally " Macquarie Place to the Bank of NSW and moved to 12 George Street where she advertised on 20 Jul 1811:- "Mrs Reibey informs her Friends and the Public in general, that she has removed from her House in Macquarie Place to No. 12 George Street late the residence of Mr. Michael Hayes, where she has laid in a Variety of Articles, recently imported in the Providence consisting principally of..." Mary applied for land and was granted 200 acres on the Hawkesbury River she called "Toad Hill Farm" and another 200 acres at Hunter's Hill where she built "Reibey's Cottage". In 1847, Monsieur D.N. Joubert bought the 200 acres and built "St Malo" next to "Reibey's Cottage" which was still standing in 1956, but demolished to make way for an express-way.. After the death of her husband, Mary astutely carried on building up her business interests. At one time she offered twelve farms she owned for sale, all at the Hawkesbury & Wilberforce plus the schooner "John Palmer". Probably her biggest mistake in business, was when Governor Macquarie offered her "North Shore", "Have as much as you like there" said the Governor, "all rocks" said Mary. "There's Wooloomooloo, Mrs Reibey", "wouldn't feed a bandicoot", was her reply!Mary purchased for 750 pounds the brig "Governor Macquarie". Her two sons were granted land in VDL and they both married. My ggg grandfather Thomas Collicott and his wife Mary were very good friends of the Reibey family, through which connection Richarda Allen married Mary Reibey's eldest son Thomas Haydock Reibey.The minutes of the meetings from the Female Orphan School Committee show that the Reibey children came to stay at Parramatta with the Collicotts who were asked whether the Reibey's food was supplied from the School's allowance. George Allen lived with Mary Reibey and her family before he completed his law articles. In March 1820, Mary decided to take her two elder girls Celia & Eliza to England to meet her relatives and recall her girlhood days. She went to see George Allen that month and made her will before sailing on the "Admiral Cockburn". The two girls went to school in Edinburgh while there. The trio returned with their booty a year later to take up a busy family programme. Mary's business affairs continued to prosper and she made extensive investments in city property. On her return from England in 1821, she settled at "Reibey Hall", New Town and opened a store at 99 George Street and kept a personal servant called "Fee Foo" a Tahitian.She owned a warehouse on the Tamar River, Launceston which was called "Reibey's Wharf" In Dec 1821 she visited her son at "Entally House", Hadspen in Tasmania. On 2 Jun 1828 a notice appeared in the Sydney "Gazette" :- "Mary Reibey has now turned her attention towards the improvement of Castlereagh Street, where a new pile of buildings will soon ornament that hitherto part of the capital." Thomas Collicott advertised in Jan 1829 in the "Sydney Gazette" that he was moving his business to No. 1 Reibey Buildings, Castlereagh Street Mary Reibey appeared tireless in everything she undertook. She was connected with charitable organizations and in church work, in literature, education, politics and questions of town planning.Mary was to see her family married and outlived five of her children and indeed some grandchildren.The strong matriarch died at New Town on 30 May 1855 and was buried in the family vault at the Sydney Burial Ground. |
| Source References: |
| 52. Type: Australia Birth Marriage Death Index 1787 - 1985 Record |
| - Reference = (Marriage) |
| - Reference = (Death) |
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