Mary Cover Lawry

Mary Cover Lawry (née Hassall) (12 December 1799 – 25 December 1825) was a missionary, as were her father Rowland Hassall and husband Walter Lawry. She was born in Parramatta during its early days.

Early life

Mary Cover Hassall, the daughter of Elizabeth and Rowland Hassall, was born in Parramatta, New South Wales on 12 December 1799. Like her parents, she was compassionate, self-determined, practical, and enterprising.

Marriage One year after they met, Mary Cover Hassall married Rev. Walter Lawry, becoming Mary Cover Lawry. Her husband was a Wesleyan Methodist missionary and the son of Anna and Joseph Lawry of Cornwall, England. He came to Sydney in 1818 aboard a convict ship, Lady Castlereagh . Soon after, he began courting his future bride. Walter's allure was his "ready humour and characteristic sensitivity". The couple married in a triple ceremony on 22 November 1819 with her brothers Samuel and Jonathan and their brides Lucy Mileham and Mary Rouse, respectively. Her father wrote a hymn for the ceremony. Henry, Elizabeth, and Mary Australia.

quote|I think it may be easier for a woman to be a missionary than for a man. Why? I am able to come to Tonga and bring my work, the shape of my days, with me almost unaltered. The bundle may have been rearranged; a little lumpy in places, but the same elements are still there—wife, mother, housewife . . . a protective shell around me and mine . . . In this tiny area, it is all right to be ourselves.|Mary Cover Lawry

Legacy She was said to be devoted her life to others and "Not only did she set the benchmark for the love and service displayed by our subsequent female leaders - she did so with undeniable courage."