Elizabeth Macquarie
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Elizabeth Macquarie (; 1778–1835) was the second wife of
Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...
, who served as
Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...
from 1810 to 1821. She played a significant role in the establishment of the colony and is recognised in the naming of many
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
landmarks including Mrs Macquarie's Chair and Elizabeth Street, Hobart. Governor Macquarie named the town (now city) of
Campbelltown, New South Wales Campbelltown is a suburb located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney south-west of the Sydney central business district by road. Campbelltown is the adminis ...
after his wife's maiden name and a statue of her now stands in Mawson Park, Campbelltown.


Biography

Born Elizabeth Henrietta Campbell, she was the youngest daughter of John Campbell of Airds,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. A distant cousin of Macquarie's she first met him at the age of 26 when he was an army officer. They were married three years later in 1807. Shortly after, in 1809, he was appointed to the governorship of New South Wales and she followed him. She is said to have taken a particular interest in the welfare of women
convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...
s and
indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
as well as helping pioneer
hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...
-making in the colony. Elizabeth's Library of books on architecture were used by her husband and architect
Francis Greenway Francis Greenway (20 November 1777 - September 1837) was an English-Australian convict and colonial architect. After being convicted of forgery in England and subsequently transported to New South Wales, Australia (known then as New Holland) ...
in the planning of government buildings. During her time in Australia she traveled to
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
in 1811, across the Blue Mountains in 1815, and in 1818 to the Hunter River. At the end of her husband's term, she returned with him to Scotland in 1823, living at the Macquarie estate of Jarvisfield on the
Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...
. The Macquaries had two children, Jane, a girl who died in infancy, and Lachlan, a boy. Jane was born in
Perth, Scotland Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...
, on 15 September 1808, but died aged 3 months. The younger Lachlan was born in Sydney in 1814, married Isabella Campbell in 1836, and died without children in May 1845, aged 31. Following her husband's death in London in 1824, Macquarie lived with a £400 pension from the British government. From 1825 to 1828 she lived in Surrey and Middlesex, spending summers at Jarvisfield. In 1828-29 she lived in London at 58 Upper Charlotte Street in a house that was bequeathed to her by her friend Henrietta Meredith. In 1830 she moved to
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
, returning to Jarvisfield the next year when her husband purchased a commission in the Army. She died at Gruline House on 11 March 1835, and was posthumously granted of land in New South Wales. ''In her own words,'' a collection of her journal writings and letters transcribed and annotated by Robin Walsh, was published in 2011.


Places named in her honour

* Elizabeth Street, a principal street of
Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent (Tasmania), River Derwent, it is the southernmo ...
* Campbell Street, a principal street of Hobart, Tasmania * Elizabeth Street, Sydney, one of the principal streets of Sydney * Elizabeth Bay, a bay of Port Jackson and suburb of Sydney * Mrs Macquarie's Chair, a rock cut into a chair shape on Mrs Macquarie's Point, a peninsula in
Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...
* The original, no longer extant, Mrs Macquarie's Road, also known as Lady Macquarie's Road, which ran from the original Government House (now the
Museum of Sydney The Museum of Sydney (MOS) is a historical collection and exhibit, built on the ruins of the house of New South Wales' first Governor, Arthur Phillip, on the present-day corner of Phillip and Bridge Street, Sydney. Description The museum is ...
) to Mrs Macquarie's Point * Mrs Macquaries Road, a modern road in
The Domain, Sydney The Domain is a heritage-listed area of open space on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, Australia. Separating the central business district from Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Woolloomooloo, The Domain adjoins the Ro ...
* Macquarie Culvert - a culvert under the original Mrs Macquarie's Road *
Campbelltown, New South Wales Campbelltown is a suburb located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney south-west of the Sydney central business district by road. Campbelltown is the adminis ...
, a town founded in 1820, one of a series of settlements south-west of Sydney being established by Macquarie at that time * Appin, New South Wales, a town founded in 1811, which takes its name from Appin, the Scottish West Highlands town where Elizabeth was born * Airds, New South Wales, a suburb in south-western Sydney, which takes its name from Elizabeth's Scottish family estate. This is to be distinguished from the District of Airds, a name given by Governor Macquarie, in use still in the name of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society. * Meredith Island off the coast of New South Wales, reportedly named after a friend of Macquarie * A statue of Macquarie by Tom Bass, in Mawson Park in Campbelltown, New South Wales


References


Further reading

* *


External links


The Lachlan & Elizabeth Macquarie Archive - Macquarie University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macquarie, Elizabeth 1778 births 1835 deaths Scottish emigrants to Australia Spouses of New South Wales governors 19th-century Australian people 18th-century Australian women 19th-century Australian women