Female customers of the Bank of New South Wales, 1817-1820.

Craig, Russell ; Johns, Leanne

This article draws upon largely unexplored primary data sources to examine how women engaged in the banking and commercial life of the colony of New South Wales between 8 April 1817 and 30 June 1820. The data examined are the first accounts ledger and the first and second minute books of Australia's first formal banking institution, the Bank of New South Wales. (1) These first records cover the above time period.

Our examination of these records seeks to identify the women who were involved in business and commercial undertakings in the colony and to highlight any distinctive, discriminating features of these women. We aim to enhance understanding of the economic contributions of women to the colonial society in New South Wales by adding to existing historical accounts of colonial women. (2) The primary data sources analysed help to inform views regarding the contribution of women to colonial society. Were they ambitious, enterprising and competent business proprietors? Were they principally good wives, mothers and servants? Or were they mostly dissolute whores and `refractory' servants?

A popular view has been that colonial women made no recognizable economic contribution to colonial development--or that, if they did, it was only in a domestic, procreational or sexual pleasure sense as servants, farmhands, wives, mistresses or prostitutes. Support for such a view is understandable, given that New South Wales, in the period 1817-1820, was extremely patriarchal. Males dominated society and controlled commercial activities. Most females were either convicts or ex convicts. They occupied the lowest stratum in society. Many were illiterate and poor. They had few opportunities and bleak prospects.

Existing studies of colonial women concentrate mainly on social, political and cultural issues. (3) Many aspects of the employment of women, especially their engagement in commercial activity, have been under-analysed. Apart from Mary Reibey, said to be Australia's first (and by some authors, only) female entrepreneur (4) (and portrayed on the reverse side of the Australian $20 note), very little is known about the extent of the involvement of colonial women in commercial activity.

Our appraisal of the first accounts ledger and first and second minute books of the Bank of New South Wales identifies the females who had business dealings with the bank. We identify women who operated bank deposit accounts, made loan applications, drew, accepted or sought to discount bills of exchange, received payments from bank deposit accounts, and applied for bank shares. We enter conjecture on why these women associated with the bank; the nature and scale of their transactions; and their origins and occupations. In doing so, we add texture and empirical evidence to feminist theorizing about colonial women.

The bank records examined do not tell the whole story of the role and economic contribution of colonial women. Nevertheless, these records are important historical artefacts which yield valuable information about the involvement of colonial women in the early development of business and commerce in New South Wales.

Roles of women in colonial society

In November 1819, women comprised only 23 per cent of total adults `in and around Sydney'. (5) Approximately 60 per cent of women were either convicts or emancipists: that is, ex-convicts. (6) The remainder were wives of free settlers and government officials. The large imbalance between the sexes meant that convict women were in keen demand as sexual partners for men and/or as domestic servants. (7) Both of these forms of activity can be argued to constitute an economic contribution. (8) Sexual services could be bought and sold, and good domestic servants were highly prized. (9) Women's reproduction, child rearing and domestic services helped the colony to survive. (10) Sexual and domestic services were essential to the functioning of the colonial society. (11)

However, studies of the colony give only fleeting attention to the possibility that women were involved in business and commercial activity. (12) Women are reported to have been involved in a variety of small scale businesses by some authors (13), whereas others seem reluctant to admit any appreciable business activity by women. (14) Most of the convict women who arrived in New South Wales were employed mainly as unskilled farmhands or domestic servants. (15) Women's paid work was diverse and widespread but marriage provided the greatest economic opportunity and protection. Nonetheless, a small proportion of colonial women became businesswomen. Aveling (16) contends that colonial women are portrayed variously as being forced into whoredom, economically oppressed, happy mothers of colonial-born children, or skilled domestic workers. (17) They are regarded as of trivial economic importance (18) or as having achieved modest success in business. (19)

The experiences of women in the New South Wales colony were diverse. The `convict woman' in Sydney did not fit British ideals of womanhood and correct and proper female behaviour. (20) Colonial society was very complex, with four civil categories of women: convict, ex-convict, those who came free, and those born in the colony. Society was also divided vertically and horizontally. The vertical division was between `respectable' and `tainted'; and the horizontal divisions were those of traditional `class' groupings similar to those in British society. The distinguishing feature of the horizontal division was that it applied to both convict and free women, so that among free women there were colonial `upper-class' women comprising wives of governors, chaplains and government officials, while at the other end of this social spectrum were free poor women, wives of convicts and servants who had accompanied officials. Similarly, among convict women there were wealthy ex-convicts such as Mary Reibey, Esther Johnston and Rosanna Nichols at the upper end of `convict' society. Poor convict women with few prospects were at the lower end. (21)

Bank of New South Wales ledger and minute books

Three separate examinations were undertaken of the accounts ledger and minute books of the Bank of New South Wales, 1817-1820. First, we examined the narrative accounts recording the proceedings of directors' and general shareholders' meetings contained in the bank's first and second minute books. We sought to ascertain details of any banking or commercial transactions by women, including whether women were shareholders of the bank or parties to bills of exchange or loan transactions. This is referred to as the `minute books study'. Second, we examined the bank's accounts ledger to determine whether any women held deposit accounts and, if so, whether they were using deposit accounts to process commercial transactions. This is referred to as the `deposit accounts ledger study'. Third, we examined each deposit account in the bank's ledger for evidence of individual payments to females. This is referred to as the `payee study'.

Supplementary archival sources were used to trace the origins, background and occupations of the women identified in the three studies. These include the Colonial Secretary's Papers 1788-1825; the diaries and letters of Governor Macquarie, Reverend Hassall and Commissioner Bigge; contemporary newspaper reports (primarily the Sydney Gazette); and colonial shipping records, convict indents, birth, death and marriage records, and miscellaneous papers, diaries and other documentation pertaining to the period. (22)

The study is limited by being centred on activities in Sydney, rather than the whole New South Wales colony, which at the time included Van Diemen's Land and Norfolk Island. However, about 87 per cent (or 4,708) of colonial women resided `in and around Sydney' in the period under review. (23) Further, not all colonial businesswomen used the services of the Bank of New South Wales. Those women identified as engaging in business and commerce were not necessarily the only businesswomen in the colony. Some shunned the services provided by the bank and preferred to use the private credit facilities offered by merchants or the barter system of trade. (24)

Female bank customers

Together, the three studies identify sixty-five colonial women (1.38 per cent of women in the colony in 1819) who were involved in at least one transaction with the Bank of New South Wales between 8 April 1817 and 30 June 1820. There may be some duplicated identities (`Alexandrina Sinclair Jones' and `Mrs Jones'; `Nurse Sibley' and `Nurse') which would reduce the number to sixty-three. Appendix A lists these women and provides other relevant details about them (for example, status in the colony, occupation). Some were businesswomen in their own right, operating businesses in a climate of male-dominated commerce. Of the sixty-five women identified, at least fourteen (and possibly as many as nineteen) operated their own businesses, although some businesses were small.

The principal business occupation revealed was that of `storekeeper' (for example, Mrs. Jane Armytage and Mrs. Brown(e)) although school mistresses/ proprietors (for example, Miss Collicott and Mrs Mary Greenway) and publicans (for example, Mrs Lydia Moss, Mrs Sarah Waples) were prominent too. Other businesses operated by women included those of farmer (Mrs Ann Mulcock) and roadbuilder (Mrs Jane Roberts). Several women had multiple business interests. Mrs Brown(e), for example, was a storekeeper, dressmaker and also held a spirit licence. After Edward Wills and Thomas Reibey died, their wives (Sarah Wills and Mary Reibey) continued to operate the `Wills and Reibey' partnership for approximately a year before going their separate ways. Sarah Wills also continued to operate her many business interests after her marriage to George Howe (printer of the Sydney Gazette). Other women, such as Mary Ann Underwood and Rachael Moore, were married to prominent businessmen (James Underwood and Thomas Moore). Some women were at the top of the social scale (for example, the governor's wife, Elizabeth Macquarie and Mrs Wylde, wife of John Wylde, Judge-Advocate).

The first transaction involving a female in her own right is recorded `as at' 31 December 1817, when Margaret Campbell's name appeared on the list of shareholders of the Bank of New South Wales. At that time her 100 share was paid to 75 [pounds sterling], three calls of 25 [pounds sterling] having been made. Her 75 [pounds sterling] share represented 2.07% of the bank's total paid up capital of 3625 [pounds sterling]. She was the wife of Robert Campbell Junior, the bank's accountant from its inception until 8 April 1818. Because the bank's charter prohibited employees from owning shares, they were held by his spouse, probably as an act of surrogacy so that Robert Campbell Junior could circumvent the charter and maintain a de facto ownership stake in the bank.

Minute books study

Requests for discounting of bills of exchange, bank shares and bank loan applications had to be approved by the board of directors, and were recorded in the minute books. Women were identified by the use of an obviously female first name or by the title `Miss' or `Mrs'.

Exhibit A is an extract from the second minute book, illustrating the issue of shares to Rachael Moore: (25)

There was little evidence of female association either with bills of exchange presented for discount or with bank loan applications. Mary Reibey presented two promissory notes and one bill of exchange for discounting. She was the only woman to do so. Mary Collits applied for a bank loan on 27 May 1817 and was granted the loan `on said security being joined therein by her husband, Pierce Collits'. Charlotte Wairs applied for a loan jointly with John Mittens on 2 September 1817. The loan was approved immediately and both names entered in the ledger. Mary Reibey applied for a loan (of 500 [pounds sterling]) on 16 February 1820 but was refused.

At 30 June 1820 eight of the fifty-six shareholders were female. The value of the female shareholdings was 2,100 [pounds sterling] (twenty-one shares paid to 100 [pounds sterling]) or 16.8 per cent of total shareholdings of 12,500 [pounds sterling]. The female shareholders and their shareholdings at 30 June 1820 were: (26)

Margaret Campbell 5 shares
Rachael Moore 5 shares
Elizabeth Macquarie 5 shares
Alexandrina Sinclair Jones 2 shares
Jemima Eagar 1 share
Mary Ann Underwood 1 share
Jane Roberts 1 share
Ann Jones 1 share

The minute books study revealed the role class played in the acquisition of shares by colonial women. The female shareholders were all wealthy and of elevated status as the spouses of prominent and respectable citizens (the Governor's wife, Elizabeth Macquarie was a shareholder). The general impression is that the Board of Directors (composed of free, wealthy men) was more discerning about who could hold shares than about who could transact other business with the bank. Status seemed to have been an important pre-requisite for acceptance as a shareholder.

Importantly, the minute books study provides insight as to how colonial women of status were exploited by men and why women purchased shares. Initially women had no voting rights. But a Board of Directors' meeting on 27 April 1819 resolved that women should be granted a proxy vote. (27) This was later ratified at a proprietors' general meeting on 21 July 1819. The granting of voting rights to female shareholders was of considerable significance. Parliamentary suffrage was not extended to women in Australia until the turn of the century, although female property-holders in some colonies were able to vote in municipal elections before 1900.

Assignment of proxy rights to shares held by women ultimately had the effect of increasing the voting power of a male proxy holder (usually a spouse). The number of shares held dictated a shareholder's voting power. Under the rules and regulations of the Bank, one share gave one vote: two shares, two votes. However, thereafter, voting rights were on a sliding scale. Four shares yielded entitlement to three votes, seven shares yielded four votes, and ten or more shares yielded five votes. (28) The Board considered changing the rule to `one share, one vote' at the Board of Directors' meeting on 18 May 1819. The directors resolved to refer the issue to a general meeting of proprietors, but nothing seems to have eventuated: a pencilled notation in the margin of the minutes of the meeting records that it was `never resolved'.

The voting power rule is significant for the way it was exploited (29) by male shareholders. Edward Eagar was originally the bank's largest shareholder, with five shares (or three votes). However, by 31 December 1818, he had divested himself of three shares, reducing his votes to two. With the purchase by his wife of her share in 1819, giving them a combined shareholding of three, Edward had restored his entitlement to cast three votes--but for a much reduced capital outlay. (30) Had Edward owned all three shares himself, he would have only had two votes. John Thomas Campbell, Governor Macquarie's secretary, more than doubled his voting power because he was proxy for both Elizabeth Macquarie and Rachael Moore, who were each entitled to three votes. So, it seems reasonable to conjecture that one of the main purposes behind the purchase of shares by females was to supplement the voting power of a male proxy.

There was a connection between the granting of the female right to a proxy vote and the increase in female shareholders. Available female proxies rose from two on 30 June 1819, to fifteen by 30 June 1820, when potential female proxy votes constituted 15.46 per cent of total votes available. Many proprietors were in the habit of not attending general meetings and thus did not exercise their voting power. But a female proxy vote was used for the first time on 17 August 1819, one week after the directors' approval for `ladies and females' to assign proxy voting rights `to a proprietor of bank stock'. On that occasion, Elizabeth Macquarie exercised her right to vote by using the bank's President and her husband's secretary, John Thomas Campbell, as her proxy.

Of the eight women who acquired shares before 30 June 1820, all but Alexandrina Sinclair Jones and Mary Ann Underwood exercised their right to allocate proxies. The table opposite lists the female shareholders and provides relevant details of their assignment of proxy votes.

Accounts ledger study

Of the 158 deposit accounts in the ledger, eight were operated by females (5 per cent). The name of each account holder was written (in full) at the head of each account. Thus, female-owned deposit accounts can be identified because of a female first name. The entries in the left-hand side of each account represented payments or withdrawals, and against each payment or withdrawal was the payee's name. Generally only surnames were entered. However, when payments were made to women, their names were almost always prefixed by their title, either `Mrs' or `Miss', or by their first name, distinguishable as a woman's name. It was uncommon for women to be referred to by their surname only, in contrast to men. Even if a male account holder's wife made a withdrawal, her surname or first letter of her surname was then prefixed by `Mrs' (eg Mrs H. for Mrs Harris). Occasionally `wife' was used instead of her name. Consequently, it is easy to identify payments made to women from the deposit accounts. (31)

Exhibit B is an extract from the accounts ledger (32) of the account for Mary Reibey. It highlights (by means of bold typeface) two payments of 15 [pounds sterling] and 20 [pounds sterling] made to Mrs. Howe (a storekeeper) and one payment of 10 [pounds sterling] to Mrs Redman (who had farming interests and a liquor licence). (33)

The female-owned deposit accounts were small. Only two accounts operated by females remained open at 30 June 1820 (those of Mary Archer and Jane Roberts). Their combined balances were 655 [pounds sterling], representing 2.1 per cent of total deposits of 31,413 [pounds sterling]. Account details for the eight female deposit account holders, in order of date of opening account, are as shown below:

Deposit Account Date Account Initial
 Holder Opened Deposit

Hannah McConnel 25 January 1819 55 [pounds sterling]
Mary Donovan 29 April 1819 140 [pounds sterling]
Bridget McCallum 14 May 1819 50 [pounds sterling]
Ann Mulcock 16 July 1819 10 [pounds sterling]
Mary Reibey 5 August 1819 1,030 [pounds sterling]
Mary Archer 15 April 1820 55 [pounds sterling]
Helen Murphy 9 May 1820 100 [pounds sterling]
Jane Roberts 12 June 1820 600 [pounds sterling]

Deposit Account Date Account
 Holder Closed

Hannah McConnel 14 April 1819
Mary Donovan 21 June 1819
Bridget McCallum 22 May 1819
Ann Mulcock 6 April 1820
Mary Reibey 30 June 1820
Mary Archer Balance transferred
 to `Ledger B'
Helen Murphy 27 June 1820
Jane Roberts Balance transferred
 to `Ledger B'

These findings from the deposit accounts do not provide strong support for a view that women made a significant economic contribution to the colony through commercial activity in their own right. The size and number of female deposit accounts is small. With the exception of Mary Reibey, the account holders seem to have used their bank account for the safekeeping of money rather than for business transactions. Other than for Ann Mulcock's account, the deposits were for large sums. If the depositor was a single woman (as were Jane Roberts, Mary Reibey, Bridget McCallum and Mary Donovan), she would have been more vulnerable to the many thieves who inhabited the colony. Only one deposit was made in each of the seven accounts other than Mary Reibey's. These deposits were held for short periods (in Bridget McCallum's case, only eight days), before being withdrawn in total and the account closed.

Ann Mulcock was the only depositor other than Mary Reibey to make a payment from her account. Thirty-five transactions passed through Mary Reibey's account between 5 August 1819 (when the initial deposit of 1,030 [pounds sterling] was made) and 30 June 1820. There were thirty debit entries (payments) and five credit entries (deposits). Mary Donovan's deposit appears to be a direct transfer from Joseph Wyatt's account. Jane Robert's deposit was almost certainly the result of a payment she received from Governor Macquarie for the successful construction of the Windsor-Richmond road. This was commenced by her husband William before his death in February 1820, and completed by Jane. She also continued her husband's business operations, particularly the operating of their hotel, the King's Arms.

At least six of the eight women account holders were ex-convicts (Mary Reibey, Ann Mulcock, Jane Roberts, Mary Archer, Mary Donovan and Bridget McCallum). Given the poor reputation of convict women, and the general suspicion with which they were regarded, the fact that they were permitted to open accounts in their own right indicates that not all ex-convict women were viewed in the same uncharitable way. The bank directors appeared satisfied that these female account holders were respectable and stable enough to use the services of the bank. At least five of them (Mary Reibey, Jane Roberts, Bridget McCallum, Ann Mulcock and Mary Archer) seem to have been industrious, law-abiding citizens. And it is significant too that most of these women either were married or had been married.

Payee study

This study identified fifty-three female payees who received a total of 104 separate payments. At least fourteen (and as many as nineteen) women were in business for themselves, principally operating small-scale businesses like schools and shops (Miss Collicott, Mary Greenway, Mrs. Hickey, Mrs. Jones and Sarah Thornton). Others appear to have been trading on a larger scale, and two, Jane Roberts and Sarah Howe, could probably be described as `entrepreneurs'. Three others owned stores (Jane Armytage, Sarah Rickards and Mrs Browne) and there were also several women who were publicans with diverse business interests (Lydia Moss, Rosanna Nicholls and Sarah Waples). These women all appear to have had ample initiative, enterprise and capability. (34) Sex, class and status were no barrier to them engaging in commercial transactions.

Many of the payees were businesswomen who made an important and valuable contribution to the colonial economy as proprietors of commercial enterprises. Some women were advantaged by inheriting businesses from their husbands (Sarah Howe (formerly Wills), Jane Roberts). But there were many husbands who appear to have been similarly advantaged by marrying wealthy and entrepreneurial women (for example, George Howe, Robert Hazard and Samuel Terry).

Colonial women had a much greater involvement in banking and commerce than existing scholarship suggests. As operators of businesses, colonial women would have, formally and informally, kept customer accounts, formulated budgets, juggled limited cash resources, and kept a note of their trading stocks. They would have understood the importance of credit facilities and the prompt payment of bills. Business relationships with other merchants and traders would have been crucial to their success.

Conclusions

There was clearly a female contribution to business and commercial activity in the colony between 1817 and 1820. Women engaged in banking transactions with the Bank of New South Wales and operated businesses on their own. Some women successfully conducted their deceased husbands' businesses (Mary Reibey, Jane Roberts and Sarah Howe) or conducted businesses independently of their husbands (Lydia Moss and Sarah Thornton). The sixty five women identified as customers of the Bank of New South Wales were mainly either ex-convicts or wives of exconvicts. They seemed to achieve respectability through being literate, polite and well-educated (for example, Mary Reibey, Sarah Howe and Mary Greenway). But there is some suggestion that women shareholders were exploited to bolster the voting power of their male proxies.

The results reported here invite a re-thinking of the view that convict and emancipist women in the period 1817 to 1820 were merely `damned whores' and servants of trivial economic importance.

School of Business and Information Management The Australian National University

APPENDIX
FEMALE CUSTOMERS OF THE BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES 1817-1820

[* Key : C = convict; CF = came free; BC = born in the colony;
U = status unknown; w/o = wife of; poss. = possibly, VDL = Van Diemen's
Land. Note: First names of women have been included where identity can
be reasonably ascertained.]

Female Customer Type Status *

Mrs Ames Payee U
Mary Archer Depositor C
Mrs Jane Armytage Payee CF
Mrs Begiant Payee CF
Mrs Bennett Payee C
Mrs Mary Ann Beveridge Payee CF
Mrs Brodie Payee U
Mrs Brown(e) Payee U
Mrs Campbell Payee, BC
 shareholder
Mrs Clarke Payee U
Miss Collicott Payee CF
Mrs Cooper Payee C/CF?
Mrs Davis Payee C
Mary Donovan Payee, C
 depositor
Mrs Dunster Payee U
Mrs Jemima Eagar Shareholder BC
Mrs Evans Payee U
Mrs Flood Payee C
Miss Forbes Payee CF
Mrs Gore Payee CF
Mrs Grant Payee U
Mrs Green Payee C
Mrs Mary Greenway Payee CF
Mrs Grey Payee C
Mrs Hall Payee U
Mrs Harris Payee CF
Mrs Hickey Payee C
Mrs Harriet Hodgetts Payee CF
Mrs Sarah Howe Payee CF
Miss Ann Jones Shareholder BC
Mrs Alexandrina Shareholder CF
Sinclair Jones
Mrs Jones Payee CF
Mrs Lake Payee U
Mrs Lang Payee CF
Mrs Lewin Payee CF
Mrs Elizabeth Macquarie Shareholder CF
Mrs Martin Payee C
Mrs Bridget McCallum Depositor C
Hannah McConnel Depositor U
Mrs McKay Payee U
Mrs Millar Payee U
Mrs Rachael Moore Shareholder C
Mrs Morris Payee U
Mrs Moss Payee CF
Mrs Ann Mulcock Depositor C
Helen Murphy Depositor U
Mrs Myles Payee U
Mrs Nicholls Payee CF
`Nurse' Payee U
Mrs Mary Redman Payee C
Mrs Mary Reibey Payee, depositor C
Mrs Reynolds Payee C
Mrs Sarah Rickards Payee C
Mrs Jane Roberts Payee, depositor, C
 shareholder
Nurse Sibley Payee C
Mrs Stubbs Payee CF
Mrs Styles Payee U
Mrs Sarah Thornton Payee C
Mrs Mary Ann Payee, BC
Underwood shareholder
Mrs Vugh Payee C
Mrs Sarah Waples Payee C
Mrs Warby Payee C
Miss White Payee CF
Mrs Wood Payee U
Mrs Wylde Payee CF

Female Customer Occupation

Mrs Ames Unknown
Mary Archer Unknown
Mrs Jane Armytage Storekeeper
Mrs Begiant Unknown
Mrs Bennett Businesswoman
Mrs Mary Ann Beveridge Unknown
Mrs Brodie Poss. storekeeper
Mrs Brown(e) Storekeeper
Mrs Campbell Unknown
Mrs Clarke Unknown
Miss Collicott Schoolmistress
Mrs Cooper Unknown
Mrs Davis Unknown
Mary Donovan Unknown
Mrs Dunster Unknown
Mrs Jemima Eagar Unknown
Mrs Evans Housekeeper
Mrs Flood Unknown
Miss Forbes Unknown
Mrs Gore Unknown
Mrs Grant Unknown
Mrs Green Unknown
Mrs Mary Greenway Schoolmistress
Mrs Grey Poundkeeper
Mrs Hall Unknown
Mrs Harris Storekeeper(?)
Mrs Hickey Schoolmistress
Mrs Harriet Hodgetts Unknown
Mrs Sarah Howe Storekeeper
Miss Ann Jones Housekeeper
Mrs Alexandrina Unknown
Sinclair Jones
Mrs Jones Schoolmistress
Mrs Lake Unknown
Mrs Lang Unknown
Mrs Lewin Artist
Mrs Elizabeth Macquarie Governor's wife
Mrs Martin Housekeeper
Mrs Bridget McCallum Unknown
Hannah McConnel Unknown
Mrs McKay Unknown
Mrs Millar Unknown
Mrs Rachael Moore Unknown
Mrs Morris Unknown
Mrs Moss Publican
Mrs Ann Mulcock Farmer
Helen Murphy Unknown
Mrs Myles Unknown
Mrs Nicholls Property owner
`Nurse' Nurse
Mrs Mary Redman Businesswoman
Mrs Mary Reibey Businesswoman
Mrs Reynolds Storekeeper/
 midwife.
Mrs Sarah Rickards Storekeeper
Mrs Jane Roberts Roadbuilder,
Nurse Sibley Nurse
Mrs Stubbs Poss. farmer.
Mrs Styles Unknown
Mrs Sarah Thornton Storekeeper
Mrs Mary Ann Unknown
Underwood
Mrs Vugh Hotel licensee
Mrs Sarah Waples Hotel licensee
Mrs Warby Unknown
Miss White Unknown
Mrs Wood Unknown
Mrs Wylde Unknown

Female Customer Comments

Mrs Ames Poss. w/o Robert Ames.
Mary Archer Poss. w/o Jonas Archer, landholder and
 Hawkesbury settler. He left the colony in
 1808. She had an account with merchant
 Hassall. Her substantial deposit of 55
 [pounds sterling] was carried over to the
 second ledger.
Mrs Jane Armytage Nee Jane Morris. Married Charles Armytage in
 1810. Operated a `public business' at 88 Pitt
 Street.
Mrs Begiant Probably w/o Eli (convict). Killed Oct. 1818,
 VDL. Her payment was from H.C. Antill
 (Macquarie's aide). Poss. a relief payment.
Mrs Bennett Baker (1805). Spirit licence in 1817 and
 1820.
Mrs Mary Ann Beveridge Formerly Mary Ann Souter--married ship's
 captain John on 14 June 1817. Her payments
 were from James Underwood.
Mrs Brodie W/o cooper, Robert Brodie.
Mrs Brown(e) Also a dressmaker. Had a spirit licence.
 Poss. w/o Richard Browne (artist). Payments
 were from Michael Robinson, poet, poss. for
 illustrations of Robinson's work.
Mrs Campbell Shareholder Margaret (w/o Robert Campbell
 Jnr), or Sophia, w/o Robert Campbell Snr.
Mrs Clarke Poss. Ann (farmer), w/o William, or Charlotte
 (publican, 1815), w/o Charles, bookbinder.
Miss Collicott Niece of John Collicott, postmaster.
Mrs Cooper Poss. w/o Daniel Cooper. He had a store, also
 Manchester Arms hotel. Or poss. Ann, w/o
 John, a dealer.
Mrs Davis Probably Ann, w/o J. Davis, watchmaker.
Mary Donovan Payment to her account was a direct transfer
 from the account of Joseph Wyatt,
 haberdasher. Mary was living with Joel
 Josephs, trader and haberdasher. Payment
 poss. connected to his business.
Mrs Dunster
Mrs Jemima Eagar W/o Edward Eagar, lawyer and emancipist. She
 remained in Sydney when Eagar went to London
 in 1821. By 1826 she was described as a
 `proprietor of stores'.
Mrs Evans Poss. housekeeper at Government House. Poss.
 w/o George Evans, surveyor.
Mrs Flood Poss. Rose, or Sarah, wife of Christopher,
 licensee, Freemasons' Arms. She received 6
 payments from Judge-Advocate Wylde. Poss.
 employed by him.
Miss Forbes Of Forbes & Co., Bombay (importers of
 spirits).
Mrs Gore W/O William, former provost-marshall. He was
 in gaol in 1819. The payment poss. proceeds
 of sale of furniture and land.
Mrs Grant Could be w/o James (Nancy), w/o John (Jane)
 or w/o Michael (Eleanor).
Mrs Green Poss. `charity' payment. Husband was `lost
 over the mountains'.
Mrs Mary Greenway W/o Francis, architect. Conducted small
 school in George Street.
Mrs Grey Probably Elizabeth Killett who married John
 Grey in 1803.
Mrs Hall Poss. Charlotte, w/o E.S. Hall.
Mrs Harris Poss. w/o William. He imported goods and had
 an account with Hassall. She received a
 payment of 195 [pounds sterling] from
 merchants Jones & Riley.
Mrs Hickey Opened a boarding school for `young ladies'.
Mrs Harriet Hodgetts W/o Thomas, blacksmith.
Mrs Sarah Howe Formerly Sarah Wills of `Wills and Reibey'.
 An important female entrepreneur. Carried on
 business after husband's death in partnership
 with Mary Reibey (for approx, a year).
 Continued in business on her own and after
 marriage to George Howe, printer. Her
 daughters married Dr William Redfern and Maj.
 Henry Anfill, Macquarie's aide. Her son
 Thomas was BNSW accountant in 1818 and
 married Celia Reibey in 1822.
Miss Ann Jones Originally housekeeper to Thomas MacVifie.
 Married him in 1824. He became her proxy at
 proprietors' general meetings.
Mrs Alexandrina Widow of Capt. Jones of the Bridgewater.
Sinclair Jones Seems to have been wealthy. Poss.
 schoolmistress who ran a girls' school in
 Sydney and later Hobart. Did not use a proxy.
 Still held shares in 1823.
Mrs Jones Poss. A. S. Jones, shareholder, mentioned
 above.
Mrs Lake
Mrs Lang Poss. Elizabeth, w/o Walter. Married Joseph
 Underwood in 1829.
Mrs Lewin W/o artist John. Widowed August 1819. An
 artist herself, payments poss. for sales of
 artwork.
Mrs Elizabeth Macquarie Purchased two shares 20 April 1819; one share
 22 June 1819; and two shares 16 February
 1820. Five shares gave her proxy, J.T.
 Campbell, Bank President, three extra votes.
 Sold her shares after departing the colony.
Mrs Martin Employed at Government House.
Mrs Bridget McCallum Formerly Bridget Fitzpatrick, de facto w/o
 Dr. Daniel McCallum. He bequeathed his house,
 furniture and cattle to her in 1818.
Hannah McConnel W/o William Burnett, ship's captain. Went to
 VDL in 1815 and received a land grant. No
 further trace until she opened her bank
 account in January 1819.
Mrs McKay Poss. w/o Daniel McKay, farmer, Parramatta,
 or Jemima, w/o James, ex soldier.
Mrs Millar Poss. widow of John, (murdered).
Mrs Rachael Moore Formerly Rachael Turner ex Lady Juliana.
 Mistress to Surgeon-General John White. Later
 married wealthy landowner and important
 public official, Thomas Moore. Achieved
 respectability through her marriage,
 religious devoutness and meek manner.
 Thomas' bequest founded Moore Theological
 College.
Mrs Morris Probably Elizabeth, w/o James, proprietor of
 Greyhound Inn. Advertised land for sale in
 1814.
Mrs Moss Probably Lydia Moss, publican of the Cherry
 Tree. W/o convict (Isaac). Or poss. Hannah
 Moss, widow of John Moss, cooper. Hannah
 requested a cooper be assigned to her to
 enable her to continue her husband's
 business.
Mrs Ann Mulcock Formerly Ann Hall, ex Britannia. Widow, Jesse
 Mulcock, landholder, farmer. Continued to
 operate their farm and supply meat to the
 government. First female depositor who
 appeared to be a businesswoman. Used her
 single bank deposit to pay a trader (Hillas).
Helen Murphy She continued as a deposit holder. Account
 had a balance of 580 [pounds sterling] at 31
 December 1821. Suggests involvement in
 business.
Mrs Myles Poss. w/o Thomas.
Mrs Nicholls Rosanna, daughter of Esther Abrahams. Owned
 Sydney Hotel. Widow of Isaac, who died in
 November 1819.
`Nurse' Received three payments from Robert Campbell
 Jr. Probably the same person as `Nurse
 Sibley', who received two payments from him.
Mrs Mary Redman W/o John, chief constable. Advertised farm
 for sale 1818. Liquor licence 1810.
Mrs Mary Reibey Wealthy, prominent, with numerous business
 interests.
Mrs Reynolds Owned shop in Pitt St. Poss. also midwife.

 Liquor licence 1810.
Mrs Sarah Rickards Formerly Sarah Slade. Owned Rickards store,
 George St, with husband. Also publican,
 Bunch of Grapes and The White Hart. Received
 the most payments (eight), from various
 traders. Three payments were for large
 amounts.
Mrs Jane Roberts Widow of William. Continued his business when
 he died 1819. Publican, farmer, publican
 King's Arms. Significant as a colonial
 businesswoman.
Nurse Sibley Poss. w/o William, and same person as `Nurse'
 (above).
Mrs Stubbs Esther or Sarah? Poss. w/o Joshua, QM 48th
 Regt. Esther, farm. Minto 1821.
Mrs Styles Poss. Ann, w/o James (who came free).
Mrs Sarah Thornton Also needlewoman. Educatedmwrote letters
 home.
Mrs Mary Ann W/o James, prominent businessman. Poss. Mary
Underwood Ann assisted in family coffee house business.
 Father owned the Half-way House Inn on
 Parramatta Rd.
Mrs Vugh Also sold meat and wheat to government.
Mrs Sarah Waples Formerly Sarah Packer. Publican (Adam and
 Eve), also sold medicines. Store
 advertisement 1822.
Mrs Warby Probably Sarah, w/o Const. J. Warby,
 explorer.
Miss White Referred to as `Miss Ann White'.
Mrs Wood Poss. w/o Isaac, schoolteacher; or Frances,
 w/o butcher who suicided 1817; or Lucy, wife
 of John.
Mrs Wylde John's wife. Her one payment was from Joshua
 John Moore, her brother.

Proxy Votes Assigned by Female Shareholders
at 30 June 1820

Female Proxy Proxy
Shareholder Available

Margaret Campbell Three Robert Campbell Junior
Elizabeth Macquarie Three John Thomas Campbell
Jane Roberts One Solomon Levey
Rachael Moore Three John Thomas Campbell
Jemima Eagar One Edward Eagar
Alexandrina Sinclair Jones Two None
Ann Jones One Thomas MacVitie
Mary Ann Underwood One None

Female Male Proxy's Male Proxy's
Shareholder Own Votes Total Votes
 (own + proxy)

Margaret Campbell Two Five
Elizabeth Macquarie Five Eight
Jane Roberts One Two
Rachael Moore Eight Eleven
Jemima Eagar Two Three
Alexandrina Sinclair Jones n.a. n.a.
Ann Jones Three Four
Mary Ann Underwood n.a. n.a.

Exhibit A

Minute Book 2: Extract of Minutes from Bank Board
Day and Court of Proprietors' Meeting,
17 August 1819

The Members of the Board return'd to their Board Rooms,
after the Election of a Director, by the Court of Proprietors,
in the room of William Broughton Esquire,--John Piper and
William Browne Esquires were put in nomination, and the
latter was elected as appears by the minutes of that Court.--

The President and two junior Directors (Messrs. Wentworth
& Wylde) sign'd the following Certificates, for Bank
Shares,--viz:

1 Share No. 89 In favor of Rowland
 Hassall, dated 13th
 August 1819
 { "90
 { "91
5 shares { "92 In favor of Mrs. Rachael
 { "93 Moore, dated 16th
 { "94 August 1819

 The Board adjourned.
 (sign'd)
 J.T. Campbell
 President

Exhibit B
Extract from the Ledger Account of Mary Reibey

Dr. Mary Reibey

1819
August 26 Reibey 219 30 0 0
Sept. 3 " 228 20 0 0
 9 " 234 17 10 0

 13 Crooks 238 20 0 0
 29 Reibey 252 20 0 0
Oct. 8 Mrs. Howe 262 15 0 0
 9 Reibey 264 15 0 0
Nov. 13 Mrs. Howe 300 20 0 0
Decem. 7 Levey 324 8 16 0
 9 Flusky 332 10 0 0
 10 Bevan 328 8 12 10
 15 Flusky 332 10 0 0
 18 Sindrey 336 13 1 9
 20 Fluskey 338 7 10 0
 24 Hankinson 344 25 0 0
 28 Fluskey 248 10 0 0
 1,073 10 10
 1,324 [pounds 1 5
 sterling]

1820
Jan 3 Fluskey 2 10 0 0
 " Greenway " 7 5 0
 7 Cheers 6 6 1 0
 10 Wollstoncraft 8 5 4 9
 24 Reibey 18 10 0 0
 31 Check & 24 3 6
 Pass Book
Feby 2 Mrs. Redman 26 10 0 0
 " Fluskey " 10 0 0
 23 Johnston 50 9 0 0
 24 DeMestre 54 10 0
 25 Reibey " 5 0 0
 26 Briggs 56 110 0 0
 29 Self 58 1017 16 7
March 2 Fluskey 60 5 0 0
 1,211 [pounds 0 10
 sterling]

1819 Cr.

August 5 Cash 197 1,030 0 0
October 18 " 378 50 0 0
Novem 6 " 290 244 1 5
 1,324 [pounds 1 5
 sterling]

1820
Jany 1 Balance 1,073 10 10
 26 Cash 19 37 10 0
Feby 14 " 39 100 0 0
 1,211 [pounds 0 10
 sterling]

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Simon Ville, Anthea Hyslop and participants at the 9th World Congress of Accounting Historians in Melbourne (August 2002), for comments on earlier versions of this paper. They also thank the staff of the Historical Services Section, Westpac Banking Corporation Ltd, Sydney, for their generous assistance.

Notes

(1) These valuable artefacts of Australia's commercial history have been preserved in good order and have kindly been made available to us by the Westpac Banking Corporation Ltd.

(2) These have been provided by Ruth Teale (ed.), Colonial Eve, Melbourne, 1978; Monica Perrott, A Tolerable Good Success, Sydney, 1983; Katrina Alford, Production or Reproduction ? An economic history of women in Australia 1788-1850, Melbourne, 1984; Portia Robinson, The Hatch and Brood of Time, Melbourne, 1985; Portia Robinson, The Women of Botany Bay, Sydney, 1988; Jan Kociumbas, The Oxford History of Australia, 1770-1860, Melbourne, 1992; Deborah Oxley, Convict Maids, Cambridge, 1996; Joy Damousi, Depraved and Disorderly, Melbourne, 1997; and Kay Daniels, Convict Women, Sydney, 1998, amongst others.

(3) Alford, p. 1.

(4) Daniels, p. 225; Carol Liston, `Colonial Society', in James Broadbent and Joy Hughes (eds), The Age of Macquarie, Melbourne, 1992, p. 25; Alford, p. 7; and Helen Heney, Australia's Founding Mothers, Melbourne, 1978, p. 221. Reibey was estimated to be worth 20,000 [pounds sterling] by Margaret Steven, `Public Credit and Private Confidence', in Broadbent and Hughes, p. 53.

(5) Wray Vamplew, Australians: Historical Statistics, Sydney, 1987, p. 25.

(6) Robinson, The Hatch, p. 71.

(7) Ken Buckley and Ted Wheelwright, No Paradise for Workers, Melbourne, 1988, p. 53.

(8) This point seems to have been overlooked by C.M.H. Clark, A History of Australia, Melbourne, 1962; L.L. Robson, The Convict Settlers of Australia, 1965; and A.G.L. Shaw, Convicts and the Colonies, London, 1966.

(9) Paula J. Byrne, Criminal Law and Colonial Subjects, Cambridge, 1993, p. 49.

(10) Marilyn Lake, `Convict Women as Objects of Male Vision', Bulletin of the Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, 1988, p. 45.

(11) Bronwyn Labrum, Women's History: A short guide to researching and writing women's history in New Zealand, Wellington, 1993, p. 10.

(12) Where such a possibility has been canvassed no consensus view has emerged (Teale, Perrott, Alford, Robinson, The Women; Kociumbas, Oxley, Daniels).

(13) Teale, Robinson The Women, Perrott and Alford.

(14) R.W. Connell and T.H. Irving, Class Structure in Australian History, Melbourne, 1992; Miriam Dixson, The Real Matilda, Sydney, 1976.

(15) Oxley.

(16) Marion Aveling, `Bending the Bars: Convict Women and the State' in Kay Saunders and Raymond Evans (eds.), Gender Relations in Australia, Sydney, 1992, p. 149.

(17) Anne Summers, Damned Whores and God's Police, Melbourne, 1975; Alford; Robinson, The Hatch; Oxley.

(18) Dixson.

(19) Robinson, The Women; and Perrott.

(20) Oxley, p. 101.

(21) Robinson, The Hatch, pp. 71-72.

(22) Banks Papers, vol. 22, A85, Mitchell Library (ML); C. Baxter, (ed.), General Muster of New South Wales, Norfolk Island and Van Diemen's Land, 1811, Sydney, 1987; C. Baxter, (ed.), General Muster of New South Wales, 1814, Sydney, 1988; C. Baxter, (ed.), General Muster and Land and Stock Muster of New South Wales, 1822, Sydney, 1988; C. Baxter, (ed.), General Muster of New South Wales, 1823,1824,1825, Sydney, 1999; Bonwick Transcripts, Boxes 2, 5, 10, 12, 13, 19, 21, 24, 25, 27, 88, ML; Colonial Secretary's Papers, 1788-1825: microfiche and microfilm collection, National Library of Australia; Colonel Sorrell's Despatches, A 1351, ML; Governor Gipp's Correspondence, A1220, ML; Governor Macquarie's Journal, A778, ML; Hassall's Day Sales Book, A861, A862, ML; Hassall's Correspondence, vol. 4, A1677, ML; Macquarie's Memoranda, A778, A772, A800, ML; Piper Papers, A254, ML; Sydney Gazette; Wentworth Papers, A751, A753, A758 ML.

(23) Vamplew, p. 25.

(24) For example, Rosetta Terry, Sarah Thornton, Elizabeth Macarthur, and the many female publicans, shopkeepers and teachers.

(25) Punctuation, spelling, grammar and layout as per original, has been strictly adhered to.

(26) Folio 413, Bank of New South Wales ledger.

(27) It is interesting to conjecture whether the purchase of a share by Elizabeth Macquarie, the Governor's wife, was the catalyst for the granting of the female proxy vote.

(28) Rule No. 15, Rules and Regulations of the Bank of New South Wales.

(29) A male economist has queried our use of `exploited'. He claims it could be regarded as `simply sensible maximising behaviour'.

(30) The bank shares cost 100 [pounds sterling] each. The `saving' to Eagar was 200 [pounds sterling].

(31) An exception noted in the ledger is where a transfer is made from one account (`Joseph Wyatt') to a woman's account (`Mary Donovan') and the entry for the payee is written as `Donovan'. That the entry was made in this manner is curious and raises the question of whether there were similar entries. It could indicate that `Mary Donovan' was not seen as having a `good character'.

(32) Spelling and layout have been strictly adhered to from the original. The exception is the use of `zeros' for nil amounts, whereas in the original, `ditto' signs or `full-stops' were used.

(33) Folio 238, Bank of New South Wales ledger.

(34) Nonetheless, a friendly critic has drawn our attention to the argument that evidence of women's ownership of economic assets and conduct of economic transactions does not, of itself, prove they were successful, capable and showed initiative.