Mary Reibey and Mr. Berry

Mary Reibey (c.1840s) and Alexander Berry (c.1850s).

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Commercial ties
3. To England 1820-1
   
4. Shoalhaven land 1828+
5. Southward 1834
6. Two peas in a pod
7. References

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Abstract: Mary Reibey is an enigma of Australian history. Labelled the convict who became Australia's richest businesswoman, much has been written about her. She graces the Australian $20 bill, yet of the woman herself little is known; we know what she did, but not what she thought. There is no significant cache of personal letters or diaries; no detailed third-person descriptions. She was not involved in public scandal, and did not participate in public political life, though her wealth gave her obvious power in the penal colony. She is therefore what is known as a hard nut to crack for historians - easy to write about, but not to necessarily understand. The following article therefore takes a deep dive into a little known aspect of her life - her ownership and leasing of substantial parcels of land in the Shoalhaven from the late 1820s, and her relationship with Alexander Berry of Coolangatta (Cullunghutti) - a fellow landowner, grave robber, trader in skulls, and individual who, like the vast majority of post-invasion Brits, dealt with the local Indigenous population without compassion or compensation. It would appear that Reibey and Berry, as professional merchant traders and land speculators, were cut from the same cloth, both being warriors of the racist British Empire - one a driven matriarch who treated Australia as though it were her home town of Bury, Lancashire, England; the other, born in Cupar, Fife, Scotland, a doctor, merchant trader and seeker of scientific truth, who lived in a colonial mansion on Sydney's north shore, whilst deriving wealth from 10,000 acres down south. In such an invasive environment, First Nations people suffered, usually in the background. Of Berry's treatment of them we know much, as he wrote much and did much; of Reibey's we know nothing.

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1. Introduction

On Wednesday 1 March 1820 the Admiral Cockburn, Captain Briggs, set sail from Sydney Cove for England, with cargo (substantially wool), crew and passengers. Amongst those on board were local business-woman, widow and former convict Mary Reibey (1777-1855), her two eldest daughters - 17 year old Celia (1803-1823) and 15 year old Eliza (1805-1870), and Mr. Alexander Berry (1781-1873), a former ship's doctor turned merchant trader and soon to be substantial landowner in North Sydney and the Shoalhaven district of New South Wales. Little is known directly of the relationship between the two entrepreneurs, either commercially or personally. However, it is possible their interactions went beyond simply business. How far beyond is something this article will seek to discover, despite the passage of more than two centuries and the paucity of extant records for both parties, but especially Reibey.

Both Reibey and Berry are notable figures in the early colonial history of Australia. Books have been written about them, including for Reibey four separate biographies and a semi-fictional retelling of her life, numerous mentions in articles, magazines and even a television series, plus featuring on the Australian $20 note since 1993; whilst Berry is served by a published reminiscence, numerous mentions in articles and academic theses, and most notably has two Australian towns named after him - one called simply Berry, and the other Coolangatta after his Shoalhaven property and one of his trading vessels (ABC 1974, Pullen 1975, Irvine 1984, Gilchrist 2016, Holtby 2020, Kieza 2023, Keneally 2024, Wikipedia 2024). Berry's biographical references highlight his activities as a merchant and land owner, plus activities in the area of colonial science (viz. geology, phrenology) and encounters with Indigenous peoples (Bennett 2003 & 2005, Allam 2022). They also expose his activities in grave digging, trade in Indigenous body parts, and mistreatment of the Shoalhaven First Nations population, most notably in regards to the deceased warrior and elder Arawarra (Organ 1989 & 1993, Longbottom & Organ 2022).

The impetus for the present article arose out of the author's own research into Berry since 2019 and renewed interest in Shoalhaven history following a gap of some twenty years, and a passing, though intriguing mention by a colleague that Reibey and Berry had travelled together to England in 1820. Numerous rumours surrounded the gentle-woman regarding her amorous adventures following the birth of seven children between 1796 and 1806, and death of her husband Captain Thomas Reibey (b.1769) in 1811 (Wikitree). She had arrived in Australia in 1792 and married Thomas two years later. One rumour said that she had an affair with colonial governor Ralph Darling (1772-1858) who was in office between 1825-31 and had married in 1817, though the author has not found any evidence in support of this or any other post-1811 flirtations by Reibey. In 1820-1 she visited England and Scotland, and surviving diary notes tell us of some of her activities there. However, records of her life thereafter are scant, with no hint of scandal (Irvine 1992). This was noted in a 1933 newspaper article, as follows:

Of the rest of Mary's life we know little, mainly, I imagine, because there is little of outside interest to know. She had won the right to a quiet and easy-going enjoyment of the prosperity her hard work had deserved and procured. Not that she altogether rested on her laurels; in 1834 she built a fine row of three-story houses in George Street, and she never entirely abandoned her grip on her businesses. Trading is not in itself an interesting occupation to outsiders, and Mary's story lacks the thrills that enliven any narrative of inventions and adventures. But she was the first notable woman trader, accepted as their equal not only by rival men traders but by officials and Governors; she had a philosophy of trading, evinced in her recommendations to Macquarie that all businesses should be licensed and that traders should be legally prevented from charging unreasonable prices for the, necessaries of life; she was a notable pioneer in an industry indispensable to the Commonwealth. Quite apart from her romantic history she deserves thanks and remembrance (Jose 1933).

Mary was not uneducated or averse to putting pen to paper. She was a frequent correspondent with government through the Colonial Secretary's Office, pursuing business opportunities, liquor licenses and land. She also had good relations with Governor Lachlan Macquarie between 1810-21, as her local business empire grew, and was included in his social circles. This obviously reveals aspects of Reibey's tenacity regarding business matters, which lies at the heart of her historical reputation. Perhaps that is all that needs to be revealed. As the following University of Sydney Honor Roll citation noted in 2016:

A woman of great determination, Mary Reibey contributed enormously to the city’s economy, architecture and society in the 1800s. Following the death of her husband Thomas Reibey in 1811, she took over the running of his merchant and shipping business, while raising her seven children. She was a hotel-keeper, owned seven farms and the family sealing operation at Bass Strait. She opened a new warehouse in George Street in 1812, and continued to manage her husband’s fleet of ships and extended the operations by buying two more, John Palmer and the brig Governor Macquarie, in 1817. In the same year, she was a founding member of the Bank of New South Wales, now Westpac. She also made extensive investments in city property and by 1828 had erected many elegant and substantial buildings in Macquarie Place near the King’s Wharf, and in the centre of George Street. Her appointment as a Governor of the Free Grammar School in 1825 was also typical of her interests in education, along with the church and charity work. She was admired by Governor Lachlan Macquarie who had welcomed her into his social circles.

This tenacity and business acumen can even be seen in the youthful activities which eventually led to her transportation. Dealing with the death of her parents, and finding herself on the street in June 1791 when aged  13, Molly Haydock (her birth name) adopted the persona of young boy James Burrow, "borrowed" a horse and, upon attempting to sell it, was arrested in July and sentenced in September. Mary Haddock, alias James Burroughs, arrived in Sydney aboard the Royal Admiral in 1792. The rest is history.

On the other end of the spectrum, Alexander Berry married late in life to Elizabeth Wollstonecraft (1781-1845) on 21 September 1827 in Sydney. Berry was 45 at the time, and Wollstonecraft 41 (Swords 1978, Wikitree). They had no children. Following his death in 1873 Alexander's substantial estate was dispersed both locally and in Great Britain, with a significant benefaction in his honour to the University of Edinburgh by his brother David. Elizabeth was the sister of Berry's business partner Edward Wollstonecraft (1783-1832), whose aunt was Mary (Wollstonecraft) Godwin (1759 - 1797), the mother of the famous author of Frankenstein, namely Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley (1797 - 1851). Berry and Shelley went on to share correspondence after 1845, following the deaths of Edward and Elizabeth.

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2. Commercial ties

The earliest reference to a connection between Reibey and Berry was in regard to their commercial trade out of Sydney. Thomas Reibey and his partner Edward Willis had operated a trading business on the Hawkesbury from the late 1890s, extending out to Bass Strait and the Pacific, and from 1809 to China and India (Forde 1902). By 1804 the Reibey family had 260 acres on the Hawkesbury in a number of farms, a house on the Rocks (which was sold that year) and commercial land on Sydney Cove, adjacent to Government House and with access to the harbour. By the end of the decade they had also owned sloops Raven, Edwin and James, and the larger Mercury, transporting cargo such as food, fur and oil, cedar and coal. During this period Mary was both giving birth and learning to operate the business whilst Thomas and Edward were away from the colony.

Alexander Berry had arrived in Sydney as early as October 1808 aboard the City of Edinburgh, and over the next decade had numerous adventures in the regions of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, achieving some fame (Berry 1912, Jervis 1941, Perry 1966). Both Thomas and Edward died in 1811, leaving Mary with seven children aged 15 to 1 and a thriving business to run. In 1812 she opened a new warehouse in George Street, Sydney, and over the following two decades successfully expanded the business and her property holdings, both within the city and country (Lennon 2016). The Reibey residence prior to July 1811 was Entally House, located in Macquarie Place, on the upper, southern side of Sydney Cove. From that date (three months after the death of Thomas) Mary moved the family and her store to 12 George Street. She utilised these two buildings up until 1828, with Entally House famous as the site of the first Australian bank - the Bank of New South Wales - set up by Reibey and others in 1817.

Entally House, Mary Reibey's residence, Macquarie Place, Sydney,

Eventually Berry decided to settle in New South Wales in partnership with Edward Wollstonecraft, his London agent. Berry arrived in Sydney aboard the Admiral Cockburn on 31 July 1819, setting up premises in the lower George Street dockside area on the western side of Sydney Cove. At various stages both Reibey and Berry / Wollstonecraft are indicated as owners / occupiers of the 3-storey warehouse seen in the following print from 1829, though Reibey also owned and constructed numerous commercial and residential properties in the city during this period.

Alexander Berry's return to England on the Admiral Cockburn at the beginning of March 1820 was primarily in association with his commercial ventures, whilst Reibey's was largely personal. At the time the Berry and Wollstonecraft offices were at 97 George Street, Sydney, whilst Reibey's were at no.1.

Apart from commercial ties, Mary Reibey was a Christian, having been enjoined ... to the practice of every moral religious duty during her youth (Irvine 1984, Fletcher 2000). She appeared on numerous subscription lists during her lifetime and worshiped at St. Philip's Church, Sydney. In January 1822 her eldest son George was listed as one of the committee members on the local Benevolent Society, for which Berry and Wollstonecraft were treasurers. In 1826 both Mary Reibey and Alexander Berry donated to the Female School of Industry - Berry gave £3 and Reibey had an annual £2 subscription.

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3. To England

Mary Reibey was a convict and, like so many others, never expected by the authorities or society to return to the British Isles, having been exiled to the Botany Bay penal colony in 1791. However, Mary was an independent, strong-willed individual and determined to return to her place of birth, with two of her daughters as companions. She did this during 1820 and subsequently returned to Australia at the end of the following year aboard the Mariner as a free settler, having removed her so-called convict stain (at least in her mind). Some of the details of her journey were published in the Sydney newspaper Evening News on 12 February 1898, based on extracts taken from her diary notes (Reibey 1898). A more substantial transcript is found in Nancy Irvine's 1982 book, Mary Reibey - Molly Incognita. The original diary was held at the time by her grandson James Thompson of Burrier, Shoalhaven. In those notes we find the following entries for 8 & 9 February 1821, wherein Reibey visited Alexander Berry's London lodgings:

LOOKING FOR LETTERS.

Thursday, 8th. Breakfasted at the White Horse, fetter-lane. Whent to 53 Old Broad-street to see Mr. Jones; was not at the office. Took a walk in Cheapside, and down ludgate hill, returned back, and paid him their. He gave me the news of the Tuscan arriving, and had no letters for me, which made me very uneasy all day.

Whent to Captain Watson, and took lodgings their. At night whent as far as Captain Atkinson's; he was just reading a letter sent from his son, which he had got out of Mr. Berry's box, and he saw a packet Directed for me, but the officer in charge whould not let them be taken, as they must go through the Post Office.

Friday, 9th. Mr. Jones and I whent to Mr. Berry's lodging, No. 8 size-lane, Back of the Mansion House. He was not within, but we left a note on his Table to send my packet as soon as he got it, which was late in the afternoon. Expences of it at P. Office was 12g. and the porter 2s. I stop'd up till after 12 o'clock reading them. Old Captain Wilkinson, of the Sydney Pacquet, call'd to see me this evening. . . .

Berry was obviously important in the transfer of letters between England and the colony. In the journey from Sydney, for example, he had been tasked by Governor Lachlan Macquarie with transfer of his official correspondence to the authorities in London.

Mary and her two daughters were in Great Britain from 20 June 1821 through to 5 July 1821. They returned to the colony aboard the Mariner, Captain Douglass, arriving at Hobart on 8 November and Sydney on Saturday 15 December 1821 (or possibly Wednesday). Mary was accompanied in the latter by four daughters, suggesting that two may have been residing in Tasmania which she was overseas.

It can be wondered - what did Reibey and Berry speak about during their long voyage to England? A friend has suggested that it was during this period that the subject of the purchase of land at the Shoalhaven was first raised, and it seems that both were keen to pursue this upon their return to New South Wales.

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4. Shoalhaven land

Mary Reibey's initial encounter with the Shoalhaven region, located on the New South Wales coast approximately 100 miles south of Sydney, was probably in association with the Reibey and Willis trading activities beginning in the late 1790s. Jervis Bay was a known port and in 1805 surveyor James Meehan had carried out a survey up the Shoalhaven River as far as Burrier. Reibey's colonial schooner Mercury was wrecked at the entrance to the Shoalhaven in March 1813, along with the Endeavour, whilst loading and carrying away a cargo of cedar. Whether she ever visited the area during this period is unknown, and unlikely, due to her business and familial ties with Sydney at the time. However, on Monday, 12 December 1825, she published the following notice in the Sydney Gazette, likely relating to a visit to the Shoalhaven.

MRS. REIBEY, intending soon to visit the Southward, for a short Time, requests all Claims and Demands against her to be presented. Macquarie-place, 7th December, 1825.

Shortly thereafter (January 1826) part of the household furniture and items from the Macquarie Place residence was offered for sale. By 1828 Mary had retired from active involvement in commercial affairs and moved to a new residence in Newtown, where she saw out her remaining days. The family remained active in business, with Mrs Reibey's Store still in operation in George Street, along with her numerous property dealings. For example, in December 1827, the Sydney Gazette reported as follows:

In addition to the improvements in George-street within the last year, by Mr. Barnett Levy, Mr. Morris, Mr. Simmonds, and others, we cannot help noticing the spacious elegant mansion very recently run up by Mrs. Reibey, adjoining the Custom-house. What between the erection of splendid edifices, and the ramification of children, and grand-children, no respectable Colonist has ever done more than Mrs. REIBEY to "ADVANCE AUSTRALIA."

During 1834 she erected a new set of buildings in George Street near the Post Office.

Following her return from England and Scotland in November 1821, Mary at some stage put her mind to investing in property becoming available within the Shoalhaven district. During 1822 her friend Alexander Berry had visited the area with a view to obtain grants, purchases and leases. He was successful in this, as proven by the fact that as of 1827 he had acquired approximately 10,000 acres, and set up an establishment centred around the significant Aboriginal landmark Mount Coolangatta / Cullunghutti located on the northern bank of the Shoalhaven River and near its entrance to the sea.

Mary Reibey's similar activities appear to have begun the following year when she initiated the process of acquiring two significant parcels of land on the northern ("Illaroo") and southern ("Burrier") sides of the Shoalhaven River. For example:

….In 1828 [Reibey] organised a riding party to visit [what would become] the Burrier grant. This party made its way to Burrier from Newtown by way of Camden. They were guided by an old cedar getter to the Kangaroo River, through some very wild country (King 1951). 

Another account stated:  

Though well past the age of fifty, Mary famously rode on horseback from the village of Bong Bong, near present-day Moss Vale, to inspect her land in Burrier. She eased her way down the mountain spurs in a journey that would make many seasoned riders quake with fear (McCaffrey 1922, Kieza 2023). 

During 1829 Reibey applied for permission to bid for 1,460 acres of land with a view to purchase. On the reverse side of the application was a description of Illaroo. According to the document, her rural property holdings at the time included: grants totalling 1,100 acres and private purchases of 500 acres; 700 acres cleared; 130 head of cattle and 10 horses; available capital to the amount of £5,000; and barns, outhouses and other buildings to the value of £350.

On 1 October 1833 Reibey eventually obtained the title deeds to the Burrier allotment of 800 acres, located on the south side of the Shoalhaven River, approximately 15 miles inland from its mouth and slightly to the east of the Illaroo site, and slightly to the west of the Burrier purchase. Following a holdup awaiting an accurate survey, she did not acquire the Illaroo land until 14 March 1838. At that stage it was described in the following terms:

2. CAMDEN, 928, Nine hundred and twenty-eight acres, parish unnamed, at Illaroo, commencing at the south-west corner; and bounded on the west by a line bearing north 116 chains; on the north by a line bearing east 80 chains; on the east by a line bearing south 100 chains to the Shoalhaven River; and on the south by that river to the south-west corner aforesaid. Price 5s. per acre.

During 1838 Reibey offered for sale her Burrier property through a Sydney newspaper. However, this did not proceed. By that stage she had developed a large portfolio of properties located in Sydney, on the Hawkesbury and further north at the Paterson’s Plains. Reibey also secured a number of leases of land in the vicinity of Illaroo and to the west near Yalwal, such that by 1836 her lease holdings amounted to some 8,248 acres, second only in the district to Berry. The land was use for cattle grazing, pasturing of horses and growing of crops. It was managed by both family members and individuals such as station manager Alexander McKay and convict labour. The Burrier site was the location of the principal homestead throughout the nineteenth century, though a building, or buildings, were also erected on Illaroo. The precise details are not known. Reibey purchased her Shoalhaven properties late in life, when in her fifties. By this stage she was subject to asthma attacks. She also had a substantial family of children and grandchildren to assist with management. In later years her activity waned. As reported in a newspaper article following her death in 1855:

….. Mrs Reiby grew very corpulent in her old age, and could not walk far. When she visited her grandsons, she sailed south to and up the Shoalhaven, landing at Burrier. There being no wheeled vehicles, she was driven up to the homestead on a bullock slide, with a mattress on it, and she being a real old "sport" greatly enjoyed the journey… (Anon. 1923)

It is unclear what additional Shoalhaven purchases were made by Reibey during her lifetime apart from Illaroo and Burrier, though the Illaroo Farm site was to see some extensions on its western and eastern boundaries.

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5. Journey of a tour to the southward 1834

In the Sydney Times of 7 October 1834 reference was made to the properties of both Berry and Reibey in the Shoalhaven. The voice of the article is very much one of a son or daughter of the British Empire promoting the acquisition of land and its commercial exploitation, and very much in the vein of what Berry and Reibey were undertaking. It reads as follows:

JOURNAL OF A TOUR TO THE SOUTHWARD. (Continued from our last)

A descriptive view or the Harbour and Settlement of Shoal Haven, some account of the Shoal Haven River, and the settlement on its banks, with the advantages arising from settling in that remote vicinity.

This tract of country is well adapted to draw the attention of the Emigrant who comes to our Australian Continent, with a view of making it his habitation, and his home. Shoal Haven, situate on the N.E. coast of New Holland, lies southward from the metropolis of Australia, and is distant, inland, by a near and direct route, about 100 miles - by sea about 130 miles. Of its agricultural advantages I can say much; for here one of the wealthiest colonists has established a settlement, at once creditable to his ingenuity and taste, as it reflects lustre on his patriotism and enterprise, nor is he the only wealthy settler located here. The names of Colone and Elliard, of Reiby and others, are well known in Australian annals. Then again, towards Jervis's Bay, Bateman, and Twofold Bay, are the high names of McLeay and Stephen, with many others who well know the intrinsic value of the locations they have chosen. It is on this account that I wish to lay before the reader the superior benefits arising from private individuals (whose enterprising minds may sympathise with my own) preferring this to other settled portions of the colony, as their habitation and their home.

The beauties of Shoal Haven consist of the richness of its scenery, the luxuriance of its soil, the abundance of its waters, the temperature of its climate, with that peace of mind and comfort so anxiously desired by those who are tired of a busy world, its noise, its troubles, and its cares. Of course, such lands as are located and in actual cultivation are held with a firm grasp by the proprietors of the soil, but to the enterprising mind the vast extent of unlocated lands contiguous to the estates of these gentlemen hold out every prospect that his highest wishes would aim at, promising comfort and prosperity. The shores around Shoal Haven are low, and the entrance to the harbour difficult, occasioned by a sand bar, therefore ships usually stand away for the adjoining harbour of Crook Haven, though it must be allowed their tonnage seldom exceeds 100 tons per register, the most of which are the property of Mr. Berry.

The view from Coolangatta Hill is certainly sublime and picturesque, combining one of the- most extensive marine views that these shores can boast, au extensive north view of the adjacent country. The eye, by help of a telescope, will compass a range of scenery at once animating and splendid. I am informed it will take within its compass all that interesting tract of land called the Murroo country, upon which the numerous flocks and herds of Mr. Berry depasture : it will take within its sphere the shores surrounding Jervis's Bay, doubtless even towards Bateman's Bay, and again towards that fertile district the Upper Kiama, which borders upon Shoal Haven. The extensive range of mountains commencing at the islands and stretching in the distance as far as Twofold Bay are distinctly marked: beneath, the eye falls upon the calm and peaceful waters of Shoal and Crook Haven, with its canal and rivers, its vessels, its large warehouses, and its agricultural departments. Many thousands of capital must have been lavished upon this favored spot, by its patriotic founder, to whom in justice I must observe, to say the least of it, that it is in itself, perfection, whether I speak merely of the mechanical portion of it, or whether I extend my view to the agricultural district, on the opposite side of the harbour, which is full three miles in width, designated by the residents and Aborigines under the titles of Numba and Jeau du Andee, comprising several thousands of acres.

It would tire the general reader, it would spar the critic, it would gall the impatient, were I to enter into lengthy details of this pretty place. Suffice it then to draw their attention to a wider field, a more extended range, and follow the bend of its romantic river, which rising beyond Bong Bong in the heart of Argyleshire disembogues itself into the vasty ocean. Large tracts of rich and well timbered lands exist on its banks, which are backed here on the one side by a lofty and precipitous range of mountains. Here flourish in wild luxuriance the apple tree, gum, oak, bark, mahogany, wattle, and an infinite number of other Australian woods, whose dark foliage adds its beauty to the picture. The soil of a deep rich loam, bespeaks the general fertility, and mountain streamlets everywhere are seen to water the flocks and herds and feathered songsters and inhabitants of this arcadian grove.

The river is a broad and noble stream, and will admit upon its ample surface vessels of no inconsiderable tonnage, as far as Burria, the retired and romantic farm of Mrs. Reibey. Wargamire is a valley embosomed by lofty hills, teeming with wild fowl, affording in the adjoining river abundance of fish, is on its opposite side, and not very far distant. The Aborigines here are numerous and remarkably well behaved and peaceable, save in their excursions against their brother blacks of the Bong Bong tribe, to whom they are opposed in sentiment. The distance through the bush there is about two day's journey, perhaps sixty miles; and although the river Shoal Haven can be traced by them into Argyleshire, yet they prefer the other which is the more direct route, leading them thro' the pleasant, fertile and well-provisioned Murroo country: it is requisite that they cross the river here, which is done by means of a canoe belonging to its proprietor, a worthy and respected individual.

Barmaring is the next spot worthy of notice, which is the property of a native chief, called Nicholas, but no white man has as yet located himself thereon: it is an inconsiderable place, but well adapted for the depasturing of cattle, say 200 acres or thereabouts. But there are many farms and locations on these banks, between Wargamire and Brander, the beautiful estate of Dr. Elliard, which are equally pretty and eligible for settling upon, adjacent to the banks of the river, near Mr. Colone's, a worthy native of the United States of America. These farms grow excellent crops of tobacco, wheat, maize, barley and other grain, and the produce of the gardens, such as pumpkins, potatoes, and other esculents. Much land has been cleared of its native timbers, and instead of a wild bush are now seen smiling coin fields, and snug farm houses.

Then again, towards Jervis's Bay — how beautiful! — how enchanting the scene! Towards Bateman's Bay, Messrs. McLeay, Stephen, and other grand estates. Many who have travelled farther south than I have, will agree in all I have advanced, although black guides are then required. But should Jervis's Bay now be thrown open by His Excellency the Governor, and a township be formed in its neighbour hood, what advantages might we not expect to be realized in this remote district of the land we live in. We shall see a custom house established there, an excellent dockyard, barrack, and commissariat stores - an elegant lofty spired church and resident pastor, to preach the glad tidings of the gospel, a word to be said in season to the benighted Aborigines, and all the comforts of a christian country realised in its fullest splendour: and I would suggest that this southern metropolis should be christened "Bourke Town," to commemorate the auspicious arrival of his Excellency on our Australian continent.

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6. Two peas in a pod

In many ways Mary Reibey and Alexander Berry were two peas in a pod - exiled or free settler from England, their entrepreneurial streak led them to profit from the colony through trade and exploitation of free land acquired from the local Indigenous population via the British Crown. Their Shoalhaven connection was largely ephemeral to their best known stories - Mary as a convict-made-good, matriarch and superb business woman; Alexander as a successful trader who purchased a lot of land, acquired wealth, and dabbled in science and philosophy (phrenology) on the side. Some of their similarities have been present above, alongside their differences. Their connection may, in the bigger picture of Australian colonial history, be ephemeral. However, it is the ephemera of life and of history that is often the most interesting......

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7. References

ABC, Behind the Legend: Mary Reibey [Television program], ABC Television, 26 July 1974. Hosted by Manning Clark.

Allam, Lorina, Alexander Berry: holes in the story of a NSW pioneer conceal a dark past of Indigenous exploitation, The Guardian, 9 July 2022.

Bennett, Michael, For a Labourer Worthy of His Hire: Aboriginal Economic Responses to Colonisation in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, 1770-1900, PhD thesis, University of Canberra, 2003.

-----, A long time working: Aboriginal labour on the Coolangatta Estate, 1822-1901, in Greg Patmore, John Shields and Nikola Balnave (eds.), The Past is Before Us – The Ninth National Labour History Conference, University of Sydney, 30 June – 2 July, 2005, 19-27.

Berry, Alexander, Reminiscences of Alexander Berry, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1912, 194p.

Fletcher, Brian H., Christianity and Free Society in New South Wales, 1788-1840, Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 2000.

Forde, J.M., Genesis of commerce in Australia, Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 1 September 1902.

Gilchrist, Catie, Mary Reibey, Dictionary of Sydney, State Library of New South Wales, 2016.

Holtby, Theresa, Molly Haydock: Aka Mary Reibey, The Author, 2020, 160p.

Irvine, Nance, Mary Reibey – Molly Incognita: Emancipist Extraordinaire, Library of Australian History, North Sydney, 1982, 161p.

----- (editor), Dear Cousin: The Reiby Letters, Janet Press, Sydney, 1992, 158p.

Jervis, James, Alexander Berry, the Laird of Shoalhaven, Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 27(1), 1 February 1941, 18-87.

Jose, Arthur, Mary Reibey: Australia's First Business Woman, The Brisbane Courier, 23 August 1933.

Keneally, Meg, Free, Echo, 2024, 279p. [Fictional account based on the life of Mary Reibey].

Kieza, Grantlee, The Remarkable Mrs Reibey – the convict who became Australia’s richest businesswoman, ABC Books, 2023, 368p.

Lennon, Troy, From convict to real estate magnate: How Mary Reibey became a respected businesswoman in colonial Sydney, Daily Telegraph, 29 November 2016.

Longbottom, Marlene and Michael Organ, Alexander Berry, grave robbing and the Frankenstein connection, blogger.com, 1 February 2022.

Mary Reibey – convict and businesswoman, Museums of History New South Wales [webpage, n.d. , accessed 12 December 2024.

Mary Reibey’s land at Shoalhaven, New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Tuesday, 24 June 1862.

Organ, Michael, Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770-1850, Aboriginal Education Unit, University of Wollongong, 1989, 630p.

-----, Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770-1900, Report to the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, 1993, 348p.

Perry, T.M., Alexander Berry (1781-1873), Australian Dictionary of Biography, volume 1, 1966.

Pullen, Kathleen J., Mary Reibey – from convict to first lady of trade, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1975.

Reibey, Mary, Mrs. Reibey in England. Diary of Her Travels, Evening News, 5 February 1898.

-----, Mrs. Reibey in England and Scotland. II. Notes of her travels, Evening News, Sydney, 12 February 1898.

Swords, Meg, Alexander Berry and Elizabeth Wollstonecraft, North Shore Historical Society, 1978, 44p.

The lady on the $20 note, South Coast Register, 18 July 2015.

The Thomsons of Burrier, Daily Telegraph, 8 May 1923.

University of Sydney, The Sydney entrepreneur behind the famous face, News, University of Sydney, 29 November 2016. 

Wikipedia, Alexander Berry, Wikipedia, accessed 6 January 2025.

-----, Bury, Lancashire, England, Wikipedia, accessed 15 January 2025.

-----, Mary Reibey, Wikipedia, accessed 10 December 2024.

-----, Ralph Darling, Wikipedia, accessed 5 January 2025.

Wollstonecrafts on the Rocks, The Dirt on the Rocks [blog], 14 October 2010.

Wikitree, Alexander Berry (1781-1873), WikiTree - where genealogists collaborate, accessed 30 December 2024.

-----, Elizabeth (Wollstonecraft) Berry (1781 - 1845), WikiTree - where genealogists collaborate, accessed 30 December 2024.

-----, Mary (Haydock) Reibey (1777 - 1855), WikiTree - where genealogists collaborate, accessed 30 December 2024.

>-----, Mary (Wollstonecraft) Godwin (1759 - 1797), WikiTree - where genealogists collaborate, accessed 30 December 2024.

-----, Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley (1797 - 1851), WikiTree - where genealogists collaborate, accessed 30 December 2024.

 

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Last updated: 15 January 2025

Michael Organ, Australia