Shafiqah Shasha

Shafiqah Shasha (Arabic: _ar. شفيقة شعشع; July 3 1877 - 1953) was a Lebanese-Australian matriarch who played a significant role as a trader in the early 20th Century garment industry in rural New South Wales. Shasha was born on the 3rd of July, 1877 in the village of Zahle in what is now Lebanon to a Maronite family. In 1893 at the age of 16, she was sent by her family to the port of Beirut to begin a new life in Brazil, however she was tricked into boarding a ship to the colony of New South Wales. cite book | title = Lucknow - A Veritable Goldmine | first = Kerrin| last = Cook| year = 1995| id = ISBN 0-9592227-8-2 | location = Orange, NSW | publisher = Orange City Council | pages = pp. 83]