From the age of 10yo, Mary spent her days sweeping the streets of London as a means of begging. Young Mary was one of a large family of a single mother living in poverty. With another child - said to be 14yo - Mary stole the clothes off a small 8yo girl and pawned them. However, young Mary was turned in by yet another child; she was arrested, and brought before the court. Both young girls were condemned to be hanged. Mary spent 93 days in the notorious Newgate Prison till her sentance was commuted to transportation for life, to Australia. Mary was transferred to the ship the "Lady Juliana" of the Second Fleet.

Mary arrived in Australia barely 11yo (c.1789) - the voyage from England to Australia took 11 months. It was not an unusual practice for the officers aboard to take a mistress from the female convicts for the duration of the voyage. Once in the colony, most female convicts were assigned to free-men - ostensibly as house servants. There was no record of who was Mary's master, nor was there any record as to who the father of her first two children was. The first child was born on Norfok Island before her 15th birthday (c.1793), the other was born two years later (c.1795).

Mary was taken from Norfok Island to Sydney. Here she lived in a tent, where she gave birth to a third child by a emancipated Irish transportee, Teague Harrigan - who joined a whaling expedition three years later. After this Mary married, and lived with her husband Jonathon Brooker near the Hawkesbury River (1809). It was here that Mary raised her family which numbered 21 children, seven of which lived to have their own children.

When Mary became emancipated, she and her family moved and estalblished a farm at Airds, in Campbelltown, New South Wales. Mary and her husband owned 30 acres (1822) until bushfires destroyed their property (1823) - and Jon's livelihood (he was a carpenter by trade and his tools were all destroyed). The family was destitute. But they recovered. Mary (50s) and Jon (68yo) went on to own 62 acres in Illawarra (1828). Here Mary lived till Jon's death (1833), and then her own death (1859). Mary's funeral service was the very first to be held in St Paul's Church of England church, Fairy Meadow - her son donated the land on which the church was built.

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