Description

As a teenage orphan in England in 1791 Mary Reibey was sentenced to death for stealing a horse When police cornered her she was dressed as a boy and she maintained that disguise until she was unmasked at her trial Due to her tender age Reibey was spared the hangmans noose and sentenced to seven years transportation to the colony of New South Wales With the odds stacked against her Reibey went on to become Australias first female business tycoon and the richest woman in the colony founding the Bank of New South Wales Westpac now one of the nations biggest financial institutions