Mary Bryant

Courage Determination Skill

Born 1765 - year of death unknown

Suggested by Julie Skentelbery from BBC Radio Cornwall and Jenny Rose

Words by Morsden Hordern - Naval Historical Society of Australia:

‘Mary Bryant, nee Broad, was a convict woman with two babies who in 1791 helped steal a naval cutter in Sydney and sail it to Timor in an open boat voyage. This remarkable feat of endurance and navigational skill was just as prodigious as the widely acclaimed one of Captain Bligh after the mutiny of the Bounty, and in a seaman’s world she was as good as the best of them.

Mary was from a Cornish seafaring family, born with the sound of the surf in her ears. She was baptised at Fowey on 1 May 1765, the daughter of William and Grace Broad. The Broads also had a sideline in sheep smuggling. This young woman emerges as tough, illiterate, courageous, forthright and practical.'

Mary left home aged 19 seeking work at Plymouth. Here she fell in with bad company and was arrested with two female accomplices and charged with highway robbery of a silk bonnet, jewellery and a few coins. Mary was convicted and sentenced to death, later commuted to transportation for 7 years’.

Mary gained notoriety for her involvement in a daring escape from Australia where she was sentenced as a convict. Mary clearly a force to be reckoned with, has inspired several books, a Kneehigh play called ‘Oh Mary!’ and a tv mini series, ‘The Incredible Journey Mary Bryant’ featuring Ramola Garai.