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How Did Mary Reibey Impact Society

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Mary Reibey, baptised as Molly Haydock, lived a portion of her life as a convict from England then was transported to Australia. Her becoming a convict has impacted and changed her life for the better. Not many Australians are aware of the story and background of Mary Reibey, the lady who is on the Australian $20 note which has been imprinted ever since 1994. It is known that she has been on a journey that may of not had started positively but later on turned out better than she expected. She was able to hide the fact that she was a convict behind her popularity as a business woman and philanthropist. Mary Reibey’s journey into becoming a prosperous woman began with her being a convict from Lancashire, England. Mary was born on the 12th …show more content…

She had gained respect for her charitable works and her interest and her appeal towards the church and education. Her popularity and outstanding achievements in her work has resulted in her being welcomed into the governor’s social circle. She was then appointed as one of the governors for the Free Grammar school in 1825. Mary believed in an education for all children and did not want for anyone, especially her children to go through what she had gone through as a convict. Mary became persistent and determined to keep her children in a civilised position, keeping up her role as a mother. She did not want children to be in bad situations that would lead them to rebel against the authority and steal or do any other crimes. This belief led Mary to do the works of a humanitarian for those who were less fortunate than her. She began to participate in good works and charity donating to churches and helped kids get an education. On her retirement, Mary Reibey built a house in Newtown in the 1840s. She lived here until her death in 1855, aged 78 due to the illness of pneumonia in which she outlived five out of seven of her children. She was buried beside her husband Thomas, at the Devonshire St

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