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Women in Colonial Commerce 1817-1820: the Window of Understanding Provided by the Bank of New South Wales Ledger and Minute Books

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Women in Colonial Commerce 1817-1820: the Window of Understanding Provided by the Bank of New South Wales Ledger and Minute Books WOMEN IN COLONIAL COMMERCE 1817-1820: THE WINDOW OF UNDERSTANDING PROVIDED BY THE BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES LEDGER AND MINUTE BOOKS Leanne Johns A thesis presented for the degree of Master of Philosophy at the Australian National University, Canberra August 2001 DECLARATION I certify that this thesis is my own work. To the best of my knowledge and belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person where due reference is not made in the text. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I acknowledge a huge debt of gratitude to my principal supervisor, Professor Russell Craig, for his inspiration and encouragement throughout the writing of this thesis. He gave insightful and expert advice, reassurance when I needed it most, and above all, never lost faith in me. Few supervisors can have been so generous with their time and so unfailing in their support. I also thank sincerely Professor Simon Ville and Dr. Sarah Jenkins for their measured and sage advice. It always came at the right point in the thesis and often helped me through a difficult patch. Westpac Historical Services archivists were extremely positive and supportive of my task. I am grateful to them for the assistance they so generously gave and for allowing me to peruse and handle their priceless treasures. This thesis would not have been possible without their cooperation. To my family, who were ever enthusiastic about my project and who always encouraged and championed me, I offer my thanks and my love. Finally, this thesis is dedicated to the thousands of colonial women who endured privations, sufferings and loneliness with indomitable courage. I salute them. ABSTRACT The work of colonial women, if it was considered at all in New South Wales during 1817 to 1820, was dismissed as being of no economic significance. Most colonial women were poorly educated convicts of working class status. Their main employment was generally in domestic service, at which they were perceived as inept. Moreover, convict women had a very derogatory reputation and were labelled as ‘prostitutes’. Research since the colonial period has enhanced this picture of colonial women. They are now viewed as having made a considerable economic and social contribution to the colony — especially in the provision of domestic and sexual services (as wives, mothers, prostitutes and servants). However, there has been little analysis of the contributions by women to colonial society through business and commercial endeavours. The first records of the Bank of New South Wales provide a unique opportunity to examine the involvement of colonial women in commercial activity in Sydney, from 1817 to 1820. Examination of the primary source data in these bank records for evidence of banking transactions by females has found that there were eight female bank shareholders, eight female customer deposit account holders, and that 104 payments were made to women from customer deposit accounts between 8 April 1817 and 30 June 1820. Further examination revealed that at least 14 of these women could be regarded as ‘businesswomen’. These findings add to the prevailing view that although there was some female involvement in business, by far the greatest economic opportunities for women came about through marriage. This thesis provides evidence to suggest that some colonial women were also entrepreneurial businesswomen in the period 1817 to 1820. Findings from this research regarding the use of female shareholders’ proxy votes by male shareholders partly support the view that colonial women were, in a sense, ‘hostages’ or ‘economic prostitutes’ to dominant males. However, the findings are mixed. They supplement feminist theories about colonial women, but they do so with some equivocation, for the results provide good reason to have a more generous picture of the role and achievements of women in colonial economic development and to challenge the perception of the convict woman as a ‘damned whore’. CONTENTS Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................iii Abstract .................................................................................................................................iv List of Tables ......................................................................................................................viii Chapter 1: Women in Colonial Commerce 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................1 1.2 Scope and Purpose ........................................................................3 1.3 Background ....................................................................................5 1.4 Research Method ............................................................................7 1.4.1 Background ....................................................................... 7 1.4.2 Documentary Evidence .................................................... 8 1.4.3 The Female‘Experience’ ................................................... 9 1.4.4 Definitions ...................................................................... 11 1.5 Limitations ...................................................................................11 1.6 Structure .........................................................................................12 1.7 Conclusion .....................................................................................13 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................14 2.2 Colonial Women: Prostitutes and Servants ................................15 2.3 Colonial Women: Good Servants, Wives and Mothers ...........27 2.4 Colonial Women: Businesswomen and Entrepreneurs .............31 2.5 Summary and Implications ..........................................................34 Chapter 3: The First Records of the Bank of New South Wales 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 36 3.2 The Bank of New South Wales .................................................. 37 3.2.1 Formation and Establishment ....................................... 38 3.2.2 How the Bank Operated ................................................. 40 3.3 The Minute Books ........................................................................41 3.4 The First Ledger ...........................................................................43 3.5 Summary and Conclusions .........................................................46 v CONTENTS (cont.) Chapter 4: The Minute Books of the Bank of New South Wales 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................47 4.2 The Minute Books ...................................................................... 47 4.2.1 Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes .....................48 4.2.2 Mortgage Loan Applications ......................................... 49 4.2.3 Applications for Bank Shares .........................................51 4.3 Summary ....................................................................................... 66 Chapter 5: The First Ledger of the Bank of New South Wales 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................67 5.2 The First Ledger ....................................................................... 68 5.2.1 Female Deposit Account Holders ...............................68 5.2.2 Female Payees ...............................................................79 5.2.2.1 Class and Status ............................................79 5.2.2.2 Occupations .................................................. 81 5.2.2.3 Number of Payments ................................... 84 5.2.2.4 Size of Payments ...........................................86 5.2.2.5 Timing and Frequency of Payments ............87 5.3 The U.K. Female Banking Experience ................................... 90 5.4 Conclusions ................................................................................91 Chapter 6: Biographical Profiles: Rachael Moore, Jane Roberts and Sarah Howe 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................93 6.2 Rachael Moore: Shareholder ................................................... 94 6.3 Jane Roberts: Deposit Account Holder ..................................102 6.4 Sarah Howe: Payee ..................................................................105 6.5 Conclusion .............................................................................. 112 CONTENTS (cont.) Chapter 7: Summary and Conclusions 7.1 Introduction ............................................................................. 116 7.2 Summary ...................................................................................116 7.3 Key Contributions ....................................................................117 7.3.1 Minute Books - Female Shareholdings ....................117 7.3.2 First Ledger - Female Account Holders ..................119 7.3.3 First Ledger - Female Payees ...................................120 7.3.4 Synthesis of Contributions ........................................120 7.4 Wider Implications ..................................................................122 7.5 Limitations and Further Research Areas .............................. 124 7.6 Conclusion ................................................................................ 124 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................
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