Mary Ann Piper was destined for a simple life until she transformed herself into a grand socialite

Mary Ann Piper was a grand lady living in a mansion, but her society lifestyle hid a colourful past that began with the First Fleet.

Mary Ann Piper and some of her children, circa 1826, in the grand interior of the palatial family home. Picture: State Library NSW

As the daughter of First Fleet convicts, Mary Ann Piper was destined for life as a simple farmer’s wife on her birthplace of Norfolk Island.

Instead, she transformed against the odds into “the most sophisticated socialite in Australia” and mistress of the grandest home in Sydney, entertaining on a scale never seen before.

Her story is told in today’s new episode of the free In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters with Jessica North, author of a new book called Mary Ann & Captain Piper:

In 1805, when she was 14, the vivacious Mary Ann began a scandalous affair with Norfolk Island’s commandant, the notorious ladies’ man Captain John Piper.

While the commandant had several mistresses just as young, Mary Ann was the first to produce a male heir, the first of 14 children she had with Piper.

So while many mistresses and often their children were abandoned when British Army officers were reassigned to new postings, Captain Piper took Mary Ann as his de facto wife.

Mary Ann had grown up running around barefoot with all the freedoms of an idyllic island lifestyle.

Yet she somehow learnt how to act like a lady, hosting magnificent garden parties and balls for hundreds of guests in her palatial home in Sydney.

“That was one of the most fascinating parts of my research, because I was just astounded that somebody from her background could end up being the most sophisticated socialite in Australia,” North says.

Captain John Piper in around 1826, by Augustus Earle. Picture: State Library NSW.

Mary Ann & Captain Piper, by Jessica North.

“How could she learn all that, how to behave as a lady, how to sit and to stand and to eat and to dress, the intricate etiquette of the times, how to manage the entertainment, the dinners, the garden parties, the balls?

“She learnt it all – how to run a household with a hundred servants.

“It must have taken enormous effort on her part to make that transformation.”

The Pipers took four years to build a grand neo-Palladian mansion, Henrietta Villa, at Point Piper, which was named in Captain Piper’s honour.

The Dome Room where Mary Ann and Captain Piper hosted grand balls for Sydney's elite. Picture: State Library NSW

At a time when Sydney was emerging as a party town, the couple hosted magnificent balls, garden parties and guests for the city’s elite, including governors of NSW.

North speculates that Mary Ann learnt how to “be a lady” from the governess employed to teach Captain Piper’s daughter, Sally, and by emulating hostesses at social events.

“She obviously did a fabulous job, because she entertained on a scale that had never been seen in Australia before,” North says.

To hear more, listen to the interview about Mary Ann Piper with Jessica North in the In Black and White podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or web.

See In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.