When 300 armed soldiers marched on Government House 215 years ago, intent on overthrowing the New South Wales Governor, they encountered one hurdle – a 26-year-old woman called Mary Bligh.
The daughter of notorious Governor William Bligh was standing alone at the gates. Trying to beat back the troops of the Rum Rebellion – so called because Bligh’s strict polices on the importation of stills had disrupted the military’s monopoly on the booze market – and their loaded muskets, Mary was armed with nothing but her parasol,
