Most people only ever see Mary Reibey’s calm, no-nonsense portrait on the Australian $20 note. Few know the teenager staring back from that banknote was once a convicted horse thief who arrived in Sydney in chains. This is the story of how a 13-year-old criminal became one of the most successful businesswomen in colonial Australia.
Born: 12 May 1777 ·
Died: 30 May 1855 ·
Conviction: Horse stealing at age 13, sentenced to 7 years transportation ·
Known for: Shipping merchant, landowner, philanthropist ·
Banknote: Featured on the $20 note since 1994
Quick snapshot
- Convicted of horse stealing and transported to Australia (Reserve Bank of Australia (Australia’s central bank))
- Married Thomas Reibey and had several children (Dictionary of Sydney (Sydney’s urban history archive))
- Expanded husband’s business after his death in 1811 (Reserve Bank of Australia (currency authority))
- Portrait appears on $20 banknote (Reserve Bank of Australia (banknote issuer))
- Exact peak wealth is not precisely documented (Dictionary of Sydney (historical research blog))
- Specific details of her disguise not fully corroborated (TheCollector (history commentary site))
- Exact conviction dates vary across sources (Cicadas, Bees and Bargepoles (history blog))
- Born 1777 → Convicted 1790 → Arrived Sydney 1791 → Married 1794 → Husband died 1811 → Died 1855 → $20 note 1994 (Wikipedia (general encyclopedia))
- Her legacy continues on the redesigned 2019 $20 note alongside John Flynn (Reserve Bank of Australia (banknote documentation))
Mary Reibey’s face is the most-viewed portrait of a female colonial entrepreneur in Australia — seen every time someone pulls out a $20 note — yet her convict origins remain the least-known part of her story to most Australians.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Mary Reibey (née Haydock) |
| Born | 12 May 1777, Bury, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 30 May 1855, Sydney, Australia |
| Conviction | Horse stealing, sentenced to 7 years transportation (1790) |
| Arrival in Sydney | 1791 |
| Spouse | Thomas Reibey (m. 1794–1811) |
| Known for | Shipping merchant, landowner, philanthropist |
| Banknote issue | $20 banknote (1994) |
What Was Mary Reibey Famous For?
Who Was Mary Reibey?
Mary Reibey was born Mary Haydock on 12 May 1777 in Bury, Lancashire, England (Wikipedia (general encyclopedia)). Orphaned young, she was sent to live with her grandmother before being placed in service. At age 13, she disguised herself as a boy named James Burrow and stole a horse — a crime that would send her to the other side of the world.
What Were Her Major Achievements?
- Became a successful merchant and shipowner trading across the Pacific and Asia (Reserve Bank of Australia (currency issuer))
- Accumulated substantial land holdings across Sydney, Newtown, Hunter’s Hill, the Hawkesbury and Shoalhaven rivers, and Tasmania (Bayside Libraries (local government library service))
- Estimated to be worth about £20,000 by age 40 in 1817 (Dictionary of Sydney (historical research blog))
Why Is She Considered Important?
She is one of the few female convicts who achieved significant wealth and status in colonial Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia describes her as a “pioneer businesswoman with interests in shipping and property” (Reserve Bank of Australia (national banknote authority)). The Australian Dictionary of Biography notes her “exceptional business acumen” in overcoming a convict past (Australian Dictionary of Biography (national biographical archive)).
At a time when a married woman in colonial New South Wales had few legal rights to property, Reibey not only inherited her husband’s business but doubled its reach — because she understood that owning ships meant controlling the colony’s economic lifeline.
Why Did Mary Reibey Disguise Herself as a Boy?
The Events Leading to the Disguise
In 1790, the 13-year-old orphan Mary Haydock disguised herself as a boy under the name James Burrow to steal horses (TheCollector (history commentary site)). The disguise was a practical necessity: a girl traveling alone with stolen horses would have drawn immediate suspicion. As a “boy,” she could move through the English countryside more freely.
The Arrest and Trial
She was caught and convicted of horse stealing at the Chester Assizes. The court sentenced her to seven years transportation to New South Wales (Reserve Bank of Australia (central bank authority)). Some sources place the conviction date in 1790, while others cite 1791 — a small discrepancy that reflects incomplete primary records (Cicadas, Bees and Bargepoles (history blog)).
Sentencing and Transportation
She arrived in Sydney in 1791 on the transport ship Royal Admiral (Dictionary of Sydney (urban history encyclopedia)). She was assigned as a nursemaid to the children of a naval officer — a comparatively light posting that put her in contact with free settlers and traders.
The pattern is clear: her criminal record, which could have confined her to poverty, instead placed her in a colony where convicts who could trade and work their way to freedom had opportunities unavailable in England.
How Did Mary Reibey Become Wealthy?
Marriage to Thomas Reibey
In 1794, she married Thomas Reibey, a former convict who had become a trader working the Hawkesbury River route (Dictionary of Sydney (colonial history archive)). Mary assisted in his business, learning the rhythms of colonial trade — carrying goods between Sydney and the outlying farm settlements.
Managing and Expanding the Business
After Thomas Reibey’s death in 1811, Mary took full control of the family’s commercial interests (Reserve Bank of Australia (currency authority)). She expanded the business by moving beyond the local river trade into coastal and international shipping.
Investments in Shipping and Property
- She owned ships and traded with ports across the Pacific and Asia (Reserve Bank of Australia (central bank))
- She accumulated land across Sydney CBD, Newtown, Hunter’s Hill, the Hawkesbury and Shoalhaven rivers, and Tasmania (Bayside Libraries (library service))
- By 1817, at age 40, she was worth an estimated £20,000 (Dictionary of Sydney (historical blog))
Mary Reibey’s wealth came from two strategic bets: she moved from river trading to ocean shipping at exactly the moment Sydney needed merchant ships, and she bought land on the urban fringe that became prime real estate as the city expanded.
What this means: Reibey’s success was not inherited or accidental. She systematically replaced her husband’s riverboats with ocean-going vessels and used her shipping profits to acquire land that appreciated as Sydney grew.
What Did Mary Reibey Do After Her Husband Died?
Taking Over the Business
She assumed control of the family business after Thomas Reibey’s death in 1811 (Reserve Bank of Australia (currency issuer)). At a time when colonial law gave married women few property rights, she operated as a feme sole — a woman legally recognized as independent because her husband was deceased.
Becoming a Shipowner
She purchased and operated several ships for coastal and international trade. Her vessels carried goods to Mauritius, India, and Pacific ports, connecting Sydney’s small colonial economy to global markets (Reserve Bank of Australia (banknote authority)).
Continued Growth and Philanthropy
She managed her properties actively and maintained merchant operations until her death. Alongside the business, she became known for charitable work and her interest in church and education (Reserve Bank of Australia (currency documentation)).
The trade-off: Running a colonial shipping business as a widow gave her autonomy that married women rarely had, but it also left her exposed to every storm, shipwreck, and market swing that sank lesser merchants.
Why Is Mary Reibey on the $20 Note?
The Selection Process
She was chosen to appear on the $20 note to honor her contributions to Australian commerce (Reserve Bank of Australia (currency issuer)). The note, first issued in 1994, pairs Reibey with John Flynn, founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service — creating a comparative pairing of a colonial-era businesswoman and a modern medical pioneer.
Her Portrait and Symbolism
She is one of the few non-royal women to appear on Australian currency. Her portrait on the $20 note is based on a tiny miniature held by the State Library of New South Wales and is the only known portrait of her (Dictionary of Sydney (historical research)).
Legacy as a Female Entrepreneur
Her presence on currency symbolizes the reinvention possible in Australian society: from transported convict to respected matriarch and benefactor. The State Library of New South Wales highlights her story as a key example of the convict experience and reinvention (State Library of New South Wales (state library institution)).
“Reibey became an astute and successful businesswoman in colonial New South Wales after gaining her freedom.”
— Reserve Bank of Australia (national banknote regulator)
“Her story is a key example of the convict experience and reinvention.”
— State Library of New South Wales (state archival institution)
“She showed exceptional business acumen and overcame a convict past to become one of Sydney’s most successful merchants.”
— Australian Dictionary of Biography (national biographical reference)
Timeline
- 12 May 1777 — Born in Bury, Lancashire, England (Wikipedia (encyclopedia))
- 1790 — Convicted of horse stealing at age 13; sentenced to 7 years transportation (Reserve Bank of Australia (central bank))
- 1791 — Arrived in Sydney on the transport ship Royal Admiral (Dictionary of Sydney (urban history archive))
- 1794 — Married Thomas Reibey, a former convict and trader (Dictionary of Sydney (colonial history))
- 1811 — Thomas Reibey died; Mary took over his business (Reserve Bank of Australia (currency authority))
- 1810s–1840s — Expanded shipping and property interests; became a leading merchant (Reserve Bank of Australia (banknote documentation))
- 30 May 1855 — Died in Sydney, aged 78 (Dictionary of Sydney (historical blog))
- 1994 — Portrait featured on the Australian $20 banknote (Wikipedia (general encyclopedia))
The implication: Reibey’s timeline shows she compressed a remarkable transformation — from convict to matriarch — into just over six decades, and her face became a national symbol nearly 140 years after her death.
Summary
Mary Reibey’s life is not a story of redemption in the religious sense — she never apologized for the horse theft, and she never returned to England. It is a story of pragmatic reinvention in a colony that needed skilled merchants more than it needed moral purity. She used the freedom her convict past indirectly gave her to build wealth, property, and a public legacy that now sits in every Australian wallet. For anyone holding a $20 note, the implication is clear: the woman on that currency took a path from a prison ship to a merchant empire — and the only portrait of her that exists is the one Australians see every day.
youtube.com, natgeotv.com.au, scratchingsydneyssurface.wordpress.com, play.google.com, youtube.com, thecollector.com
Frequently asked questions
How long did Mary Reibey serve her sentence?
She was sentenced to 7 years transportation and arrived in Sydney in 1791. By 1794 she married, indicating she likely received her ticket of leave or completed her sentence within that period, as she was a free woman by the time of her marriage (Dictionary of Sydney (colonial records)).
Did Mary Reibey ever return to England?
No. She lived the rest of her life in New South Wales. She died in Sydney on 30 May 1855, aged 78 (Dictionary of Sydney (historical blog)).
What was Mary Reibey’s educational background?
Little is recorded about her formal education. Orphaned young and sent into service, she likely had basic literacy by the standards of the time. Her later business records show she could manage accounts and correspondence, which she may have learned after arriving in Sydney (Dictionary of Sydney (urban history archive)).
Were any of Mary Reibey’s children notable?
Her son Thomas Reibey became a merchant and landowner in Tasmania. Other children married into prominent colonial families, extending her influence across New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land (Wikipedia (general encyclopedia)).
Where is Mary Reibey buried?
She was buried in the graveyard of St. Philip’s Church in Sydney. The exact location of her grave is not precisely marked today (Dictionary of Sydney (historical records)).
What happened to Mary Reibey’s business after her death?
Her estate passed to her surviving children, but the commercial empire she built did not continue in the same form. By the mid-19th century, Sydney’s merchant class had changed, and her specific trading networks were absorbed into larger firms (Dictionary of Sydney (historical blog)).
Does Mary Reibey have any descendants today?
Yes, she has living descendants in Australia, though the family name is spelled variously as Reiby, Rabey and Reibey (Dictionary of Sydney (surname variants)).
The exact amount of Mary Reibey’s wealth at its peak is not precisely documented across sources. Some secondary accounts report her 1817 worth as £20,000, but this figure comes from a single research blog, not from Probate records (Dictionary of Sydney (historical blog)).
Catherine Roy is Editor-in-Chief at Oz Reviewly, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.