Governor Macquarie
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Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer and colonial administrator from
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 ...
. Macquarie served as the fifth
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, and had a leading role in the social, economic, and architectural development of the colony. He is considered by historians to have had a crucial influence on the transition of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
from a
penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...
to a free settlement and therefore to have played a major role in the shaping of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n society in the early nineteenth century. Macquarie played a central role in
urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
in the colony. He had a significant impact on the development of modern
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, establishing the layout upon which the modern
city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...
is based, establishing Hyde Park as Australia's first public park, overseeing the construction of various public buildings along Macquarie Street, and devising the layouts of a number of settlements which today are part of Western Sydney. He also ordered the designing of a street layout for
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the 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, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
. A supporter of exploration, Macquarie authorised the 1813 expedition across the Blue Mountains, the first successful British traversal of the region. He ordered the establishment of Bathurst, the first inland British settlement in Australia. While seeking to promote morality and orderliness, Macquarie favoured the liberal treatment of ex-convicts, known as
emancipist An emancipist was a convict sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given a conditional or absolute pardon. The term was also used to refer to those convicts whose sentences had expired, and might sometimes ...
s, appointing them to prominent government positions and providing generous land grants. Macquarie expressed a desire for Aboriginal peoples to be treated kindly, and established the first school for Aboriginal children; at the same time, he gave orders that led to the Appin Massacre of Gundungurra and
Dharawal The Tharawal people and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Yuin language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, scattered along the coasta ...
people during the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars.


Early life

Lachlan Macquarie was born on the island of
Ulva Ulva (; ) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, off the west coast of Mull. It is separated from Mull by a narrow strait, and connected to the neighbouring island of Gometra by a bridge. Much of the island is formed from Cen ...
off the coast of 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 ...
in the
Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...
, a chain of islands off the West Coast of
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 ...
. His father, Lachlan senior, worked as a carpenter and miller, and was a cousin of a Clan MacQuarrie chieftain. His mother, Margaret, was the sister of the influential Murdoch Maclaine, 19th laird of Lochbuie. Despite this, his parents were relatively poor and probably illiterate, leasing and working a small farm as sub-tenants at Oskamull. In his early teens, Macquarie was sent to
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
to be educated, possibly attending the Royal High School of Edinburgh where he learnt English and arithmetic.


British Army


North America

Macquarie volunteered to join the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
in 1776 and was assigned to the 84th Regiment of Foot. Later that year he travelled with it to North America to fight against the revolutionaries in the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. On the way to America he participated in the Battle of the Newcastle Jane, the first naval victory for a British merchant ship over an American
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
. Macquarie was initially stationed at
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
and obtained the junior rank of
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
on 9 April 1777. On 18 January 1781, he was promoted to lieutenant and transferred to the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot, and served with them in New York City and Charleston. Macquarie safely saw out the end of the rebellion by being posted in
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
at the time of the British defeat in the war.


India

In June 1784 Macquarie returned to Scotland, where he managed the Lochbuie estates of his uncle, Captain Murdoch Maclaine. Through the influence of Maclaine, he was offered a lieutenancy in the 77th (Hindoostan) Regiment of Foot, a British Army unit, which he took up on Christmas Day 1787. The cost of this regiment was met by the East India company because it was raised specifically for service in India. Macquarie arrived with his regiment at
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
in August 1788 where he was stationed for two years. He saw active service from 1790 to 1792 during the
Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...
, under General Abercromby, participating in the Capture of Cannanore and the 1792 Siege of Seringapatam. He was promoted to Major of Brigade of troops on the
Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...
in August 1793 and became a
Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
that same year at Bombay. In September 1793 Macquarie married Jane Jarvis, daughter of the late Chief Justice of Antigua, Thomas Jarvis, who had owned slave plantations there. According to their marriage settlement, Miss Jarvis was worth £6,000 which was paid out to Macquarie three years later when she died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. In 1795, he saw further action leading troops at the successful siege of the Dutch fort at
Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...
. A year later Macquarie participated in the taking of
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
and other Dutch possessions in
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, and was made commander of the occupying garrison at
Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...
. In May 1797, Macquarie led troops during the campaign against the rebel forces of
Pazhassi Raja Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja () (3 January 1753 – 30 November 1805), also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah, was the '' de facto'' head of the Kottayam Kingdom in the Malabar region of Kerala between 1774 and 1805. His struggles with the ...
in the jungles around Manantheri. Employing guerilla tactics, Pazhassi inflicted sizable casualties on the 77th, killing a number of officers with Macquarie himself being wounded in the foot. The British torched all the villages in the district but conceded defeat with the East India Company forced into a peace treaty with Pazhassi. Macquarie resigned from his commanding role soon after the campaign. He participated in front-line combat during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War against the forces of
Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...
, helping defeat them first at the Battle of Seedaseer and then at the siege and storming of Tipu's palace at Srirangapatna in 1799. He described the "glorious" aftermath where the bodies of Tipu and his people "lay in such immense Heaps on the Ramparts...as well as in different Parts of the Town that no regular account of them could be taken". Macquarie received £1,300 in
prize money Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to ...
after the city was looted. In 1800, Macquarie was part of the British entourage headed by Governor Duncan that forced Mir Nasiruddin Khan of
Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...
to sign a treaty with the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
dictating the handover of that province to Company rule.


Egypt

In 1801, Macquarie was appointed by General David Baird as Deputy Adjutant-General of the large British-Indian expeditionary force assigned to link up with Sir
Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Trinidad in 1797. Rising to the rank ...
's army to expel the French Army from
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Macquarie sailed with his regiment to Egypt from India with the French already in retreat toward
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
. He arrived there two days after the
capitulation of Alexandria The Capitulation of Alexandria in September 1801 brought the French invasion of Egypt and Syria to an end. Background French troops, who had been abandoned by Napoleon Bonaparte who left for France never to return, had been defeated by British ...
to the British. Macquarie remained in Egypt for about a year during which time he met up with his brother. Macquarie contracted
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
while in Egypt.


Return to Britain, further duty in India

In 1803, Macquarie returned to Britain having amassed a fortune of £20,000. His elevation to the social elite saw him meet several times with Jacob Bosanquet and the directors of the East India Company and he also had a personal introduction to King George III. He served in London as Assistant Adjutant General to Lord Harrington and was able to purchase an estate on his native
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 ...
, which he named ''Jarvisfield''. In 1805, Macquarie was ordered to return to India to take charge of the 86th Regiment of Foot and after arriving also became military secretary to Governor Duncan at Bombay. In 1807 he travelled overland from India to Britain via Persia and Russia, and was very impressed by the layout and architecture of St Petersburg. Later that year, Macquarie married his third cousin Elizabeth Henrietta Campbell in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
and took command of the 73rd Regiment in Scotland as a Lieutenant-Colonel. Macquarie's wife gave birth to a daughter in 1808 which died in infancy.


Governor of New South Wales


Arrival in Sydney

On 8 May 1809 Macquarie was appointed to the position of
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 ...
and its dependencies. He left for the colony on 22 May 1809, on HMS ''Dromedary'', accompanied by HMS ''Hindostan''. The 73rd Regiment of Foot came with him on the two ships. He arrived on 28 December at Sydney Cove and landed officially on 31 December, taking up his duties on the following day. In making this appointment, the British government changed its practice of appointing naval officers as governor and chose an army commander in the hope that he could secure the co-operation of the corrupt and insubordinate
New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps, later known as the 102d Regiment of Foot, and lastly as the 100th Regiment of Foot, was a formation of the British Army organised in 1789 in England to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, which had accompanied ...
. Aided by the fact he arrived in New South Wales at the head of his own unit of regular troops, Macquarie was unchallenged by the New South Wales Corps, whose officers led by John Macarthur had mutinied against and imprisoned the previous governor,
William Bligh William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...
. When he arrived in Sydney in 1809 he was accompanied by his Indian "slave-boy" named George Jarvis, whom he had purchased in 1795 for 160 rupees at age 6 (along with a 7-year-old named Hector). Jarvis was named after his deceased wife's brother while Hector later escaped. He wrote about them in his diaries: "very fine, well-looking healthy Black Boys".


Dealings with the NSW Corps

Macquarie's first task was to restore orderly, lawful government and discipline in the colony following the Rum Rebellion of 1808 against Governor
William Bligh William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...
. Macquarie was ordered by the British government to arrest two of the leaders of the Rum Rebellion, John Macarthur and Major George Johnston. However, by the time that Macquarie arrived in Sydney, both Macarthur and Johnston had already sailed for England to defend themselves. Macquarie immediately set about cancelling the various initiatives taken by the rebel governmentfor example, all "pardons, leases and land grants" made by the rebels were revoked. However, after an avalanche of petitions from leaseholders were sent to Macquarie, he soon back-flipped and ratified them all. Although the New South Wales Corps and its monopoly were soon ended, the military influence survived, with officers having sway over the justice system. Macquarie himself chose to keep the peace with the remaining NSW Corps officers and maintained an ambivalent attitude to the rebellion against Bligh.


Civil reforms

Part of Macquarie's undertaking of bringing order to the colony was to refashion the convict settlement into an urban environment of organised towns with streets and parks. The street layout of modern central Sydney is based upon a plan established by Macquarie. The colony's most prestigious buildings were built on Macquarie Street which he named after himself. Some of these still stand today including the 'Rum Hospital' part of which now serves as the Parliament House of New South Wales. The elaborate stables which Macquarie commissioned for Government House are now part of the modern structure housing the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...
. Other notable edifices built during Macquarie's tenure include the Parramatta Female Orphan School, St James Church, and the Hyde Park Barracks. He also officially named and established Hyde Park as a public recreation area. These buildings were constructed by Macquarie in defiance of the British government's ban on expensive public building projects in the colony and reflect the tension between Macquarie's vision of Sydney as a Georgian city and that of powerful British colonists who saw it as not much more than a camp for cheap convict labour. In late 1810, Macquarie toured the regions around Sydney naming and marking out the sites and street plans of future towns such as
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Windsor and Richmond. On a visit of inspection to the settlement of Hobart Town on the Derwent River in
Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...
(now
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 November 1811, Macquarie was appalled at the ramshackle arrangement of the town and ordered the government surveyor James Meehan to survey a regular street layout. This survey determined the form of the current centre of the city of Hobart. Another town-planning reform initiated by Macquarie was made when he ordered all traffic on New South Wales roads to keep to the left. Macquarie is credited with producing the first official currency specifically for circulation in Australia. In 1812 he purchased 40,000
Spanish dollar The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight (, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content fine silver. It w ...
coins and had a convicted forger named William Henshall cut the centres out of the coins and counter stamp them to distinguish them as belonging to the colony of New South Wales. The central plug (known as a "dump") was valued at 15
pence A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is t ...
and the rim (known as a holey dollar) became a five-
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...
piece. Any forging of the new currency was proclaimed as being punishable by seven years in the Newcastle coal mines. Macquarie also encouraged the creation of the colony's first bank, the
Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...
, in 1817.


Social reforms

Macquarie was given specific instructions to encourage morality and orderliness in the colony. He promoted marriage and church attendance, increased police patrols and made laws against public alcohol consumption. Central to this policy were the
emancipist An emancipist was a convict sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given a conditional or absolute pardon. The term was also used to refer to those convicts whose sentences had expired, and might sometimes ...
s: convicts whose sentences had expired or who had been given conditional or absolute pardons. Macquarie wanted the ex-convicts to live reformed, law-abiding Christian lives. Initially he favoured Anglicanism only but in 1820 cautiously welcomed officially-approved Catholic priests. Some of these emancipated convicts were either skilled professionals or had become very wealthy by operating commercial enterprises in the colony. Macquarie viewed these types of ex-convicts as ideal models of social transformation, and rewarded them by elevating their social standing and appointing them to important government positions. For example,
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) ...
became colonial architect, Dr William Redfern became the colonial surgeon, while Andrew Thompson and Simeon Lord were appointed as magistrates. The gentry in the colony, known as the "exclusives" were outraged at these appointments with some refusing to work alongside the promoted ex-convicts. However, an 1812 inquiry into the convict system in Australia by a Select committee on
Transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
, supported Macquarie's liberal policies. The committee concluded that the colony should be made as prosperous as possible so as to provide work for the convicts and to encourage them to become settlers after being given their freedom. Macquarie also looked favourably on issuing land grants to emancipists, and in 1811 when wishing to expand British settlement to the south-west, he issued a large amount of 30 and 40 acre grants in the Appin region to ex-convicts. Later, in 1818, when expanding the colonisation in the Bathurst district, Macquarie personally selected ten settlers, many of whom were emancipists. Obstacles to these social reforms included a severe drought in 1814, causing widespread loss of crops and livestock. Many farmers were close to insolvency with the ensuing depression. Also, the end of the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
in 1815 brought a renewed flood of both convicts and settlers to New South Wales, doubling the white population. Macquarie utilised his civic building programme to encourage employment and economic activity.


Judicial reforms

Macquarie's efforts to allow emancipists to take up official positions also extended to the judicial system where, due to a lack of solicitors, convicted former lawyers such as Edward Eagar were allowed to take on civil cases. In 1814, with the establishment of the
Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...
and the arrival its first judge, Jeffery Hart Bent, Macquarie's relationship with the courts became fractious. Bent, a staunch conservative, brought solicitors Frederick Garling and William Moore with him and refused to hear cases brought by ex-convict lawyers. The subsequent personal antipathy between him and Macquarie resulted in making the court unworkable. Bent complained to the British Government that Macquarie was blameworthy of authoritarian excesses, while Macquarie complained that Bent was insubordinate. As a result, Earl Bathurst, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in an effort to keep society in the colony functioning, recalled Bent to England and censured Macquarie. This situation contributed to Commissioner John Thomas Bigge being sent in 1819 to enquire into the affairs of New South Wales.


Promotion of exploration

Macquarie was a great sponsor of British exploration in the colony. He himself participated in a number of expeditions around the Sydney Basin and to other regions including
Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay, known as the Jervis Bay Terri ...
, Port Stephens, the Hunter River, Bathurst and
Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...
. He invariably named the landmarks and new settlements he came across after himself, his wife or members of the British aristocracy. In 1813 he authorised
Gregory Blaxland Gregory Blaxland (17 June 1778 – 1 January 1853) was an English pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia, noted especially for initiating and co-leading the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains by European settlers. Early life ...
,
William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian statesman, pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures in colonial New South Wales. He ...
and William Lawson to conduct their successful crossing of the Blue Mountains and become the first non-Indigenous people to view the great plains of the interior. Later that same year
George Evans George Evans may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George "Honey Boy" Evans (1870–1915), American songwriter and entertainer * George Evans (bandleader) (1915–1993), English jazz bandleader, arranger and tenor saxophonist * George Evans (sin ...
, directed by Macquarie to further explore this inland region, came upon and named the
Macquarie River The Macquarie River or Wambuul is part of the Macquarie–Barwon River (New South Wales), Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in the central highl ...
. In 1815, Macquarie ordered the establishment of Bathurst on this river, which became Australia's first inland British settlement. Evans conducted further exploration to the south-west in 1815 at the behest of the Governor and named the
Lachlan River The Lachlan River (Wiradjuri: ''Kalari'', ''Galiyarr'') is an intermittent river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Southern Tablelands, Central West, and Riverina regions of New Sou ...
after him. Macquarie appointed
John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...
as surveyor-general and sent him on expeditions in 1817–18 to further explore the Lachlan River,
Liverpool Plains The Liverpool Plains are an extensive agricultural area covering about of the north-western slopes of New South Wales in Australia. These plains are a region of prime agricultural land bounded to the east by the Great Dividing Range, to the s ...
and the north coast of New South Wales and to find suitable lands for colonisation. Oxley, following the tradition of labelling the geographic features after the Governor, named a promising coastal inlet
Port Macquarie Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...
.


Policies toward Aboriginals

Macquarie's policy toward
Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...
consisted of co-operation and assimilation, backed by military coercion. On arrival in the colony in 1810 Macquarie gave a speech expressing the wish that "Natives of this Country...may be always treated with kindness and attention", and for the next four years very little conflict occurred. However, in the winter of 1814 a number of settlers and Aboriginal people were killed in conflict in the
Nepean River The Nepean River (Darug language, Darug: Yandhai), is a Perennial stream, major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River, and, continuing by its downstream name, the Hawkesbury ...
region. Macquarie initially made proclamations to promote peace but also later sent an armed expedition to patrol the area. Aiming to advance better relations, Macquarie organised a conference at
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
on 28 December 1814 for all Aboriginal people in the region, and in January 1815 he opened the Parramatta Native Institution for the education of Aboriginal children. Around forty Aboriginal children, some of whom were 'decoyed away' from their parents and others taken during frontier conflict, became students and were taught in the British tradition by William and Elizabeth Shelley. The children seem to have been mostly well-treated and in 1819, Maria Lock topped the colony-wide examinations. However, the institution was also a conscious attempt to reduce the influence and future of Indigenous culture and may have contributed to further disillusion and hostility. Macquarie also developed a strategy of rewarding Aboriginals who assisted the British by declaring them 'chiefs of their tribe' and presenting them with a brass breast-plate (known as a
gorget A gorget ( ; ) was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the English medieval clothing, medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon (headgear), chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather Collar (c ...
) engraved with their name and title even though it often did not reflect their actual clan status. Macquarie also rewarded these 'chiefs' with small parcels of land set aside for the use of their families. The first receiver of these rewards was Bungaree who in 1815 was issued a gorget, a boat and 15 acres at Georges Head. In 1816, gorgets and land parcels were given to Colebee and Nurragingy by Macquarie for their role in assisting the military operations against hostile Aboriginals along the Nepean River. The practice of colonists giving gorgets to 'loyal' Aboriginals continued for many decades throughout Australia. In March 1816, considerable Aboriginal resistance was encountered especially at Silverdale where a large group of Aborigines killed four settlers with a combination of spears and stolen muskets. Macquarie ordered the mobilisation of three detachments of the military in order to go:
into the Interior and remote parts of the Colony, for the purpose of Punishing the Hostile Natives, by clearing the Country of them entirely, and driving them across the mountains; as well as if possible to apprehend the Natives who have committed the late murders and outrages, with the view of their being made dreadful and severe examples of, if taken alive. — I have directed as many Natives as possible to be made Prisoners, with the view of keeping them as Hostages until the real guilty ones have surrendered themselves, or have been given up by their Tribes to summary Justice. — In the event of the Natives making the smallest show of resistance – or refusing to surrender when called upon so to do – the officers Commanding the Military Parties have been authorized to fire on them to compel them to surrender; hanging up on Trees the Bodies of such Natives as may be killed on such occasions, in order to strike the greater terror into the Survivors.
On 17 April, the detachment of 33
grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...
s led by Captain James Wallis managed to corner a large group of
Gandangara The Gandangara people, also spelled Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gundungurra and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Sh ...
and
Tharawal people The Tharawal people and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Yuin language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, scattered along the coasta ...
near the Cataract River gorge in the upper Nepean catchment. At least 14 men, women and children were killed, some shot while others fell off the cliffs. This became known as the Appin Massacre. The corpses of two men, Cannabaygal and Dunnell, were strung up on trees as per Macquarie's instructions, the skull of Cannabaygal later being taken to
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 ...
. Two surviving women and three children were taken prisoner and Macquarie rewarded Wallis for his efforts by appointing him Commandant of the
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
convict settlement. Hostilities continued for most of the rest of 1816 with Macquarie proclaiming no Aborigines were allowed into the settled areas without a passport and issuing search and destroy orders for a further ten Aboriginal men. By early 1817, these actions by Macquarie forced an end to Aboriginal resistance in what is now known as the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars.


Bigge inquiry

Macquarie's policies, especially his championing of the emancipated convicts and the lavish expenditure of government money on public works, aroused opposition both in the colony and in London, where the government still saw New South Wales as fundamentally a penal colony, a place to be dreaded by the convicts. Therefore, in 1819 Earl Bathurst appointed an English judge, John Bigge, to visit New South Wales and report on its administration. Bigge consulted with the 'exclusive' colonists such as John Macarthur, Samuel Marsden and Archibald Bell who were strongly against the social reforms of Macquarie. They wanted the convicts to be removed from the government building works in the towns and instead labouring on their large sheep-grazing land acquisitions. Bigge concurred with these opinions and saw that government expediture could be significantly decreased and the British wool industry strengthened if large numbers of convicts were assigned to these 'men of capital' as cheap labour. Bigge's reports subsequently depicted Macquarie as having an error of conduct in making New South Wales a place for the convicts to reform back into society rather than a place of punishment, and stated that his policies of remediation toward the emancipated were not only 'inexpedient and dangerous' but were 'an act of violence' to the established colonists. Macquarie offered his resignation several times, which was accepted in 1820 with
Thomas Brisbane Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Sir Thomas MacDougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke ...
replacing him as governor in 1821. Macquarie served longer than any other governor but not long after, in 1824, the overall power within the role was reduced by the introduction of the
New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
, Australia's first legislative body, appointed to advise the governor.


Return to Scotland, death and legacy

Macquarie returned to Scotland, and died in London in 1824 while busy defending himself against Bigge's charges. However, his reputation continued to grow after his death, especially among the emancipists and their descendants, who were the majority of the Australian population until the
Australian gold rushes During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in History of Australia, Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the Colo ...
. Today he is regarded by many as the most enlightened and progressive of the early governors who sought to establish Australia as a country, rather than as a prison camp. The nationalist school of Australian historians have treated him as a proto-nationalist hero. Macquarie formally adopted the name Australia for the continent, the name earlier proposed by the first circumnavigator of Australia,
Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...
. The origin of the name "Australia" is closely associated with Macquarie who first used it in an official despatch in 1817. As well as the many geographical features named after him, many institutions in Australia such as
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...
in Sydney are also named in his honour. Macquarie was promoted to
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
in 1810, Brigadier-General in 1811 and major-general in 1813, while serving as governor. Macquarie was buried 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 ...
in a mausoleum near Salen with his wife, daughter and son. The grave is maintained by the
National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...
and is inscribed "The Father of Australia".


Memorials

A statue of Macquarie commissioned by the NSW Government and created by Terrance Plowright in 2012, stands at the north entrance to Hyde Park in the centre of Sydney. A nearby inscription reads: "He was a perfect gentleman, a Christian and supreme legislator of the human heart." The appropriateness of the statue and the inscription have been questioned in view of his
punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...
s against Indigenous people. On
Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...
in April 2023, protesters vandalised the statue with graffiti alleging Macquarie had been involved in genocide; the protest drew criticism from some in the local community.


Naming and recognition

Many places, buildings and institutions in Australia have been named in Macquarie's honour (some of these were named by Macquarie himself). They include:


At the time of his governorship or shortly thereafter

*
Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1880. It became a Protected areas of Tasmania, Tasmania ...
, between
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 ...
and
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
. The subsequent tectonic plate Macquarie Ridge and junction which align northwards from the island are also named after Macquarie. * Lake Macquarie, on the coast of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
between Sydney and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
was named after Macquarie in 1826. *
Macquarie River The Macquarie River or Wambuul is part of the Macquarie–Barwon River (New South Wales), Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in the central highl ...
, a significant inland river in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
which passes Bathurst,
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
,
Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...
and Warren before entering the Macquarie Marshes and the Barwon River * Mount Macquarie, highest point in the
Blayney Shire Blayney Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Central West, New South Wales, Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Mid-Western Highway and the Main Western railwa ...
at 1100 metres above sea level. For a time it was named Mount Lachlan *
Lachlan River The Lachlan River (Wiradjuri: ''Kalari'', ''Galiyarr'') is an intermittent river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Southern Tablelands, Central West, and Riverina regions of New Sou ...
, another significant river in New South Wales *
Port Macquarie Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...
, a city at the mouth of the Hastings River on the Mid North Coast of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
* Macquarie Pass, a route traversing the escarpment between the
Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...
district and the Southern Highlands district of New South Wales * Macquarie Rivulet, a river 23 kilometres long which rises near Robertson, New South Wales and drains into
Lake Illawarra Lake Illawarra (Australian Aboriginal languages, Aboriginal Tharawal language: various adaptions of ''Elouera'', ''Eloura'', or ''Allowrie''; ''Illa'', ''Wurra'', or ''Warra'' meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, ...


Around Sydney

* Macquarie Street, one of the principal streets of the
Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...
, home of the
Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...
* Macquarie Place, a small park in the Sydney CBD * Macquarie Lighthouse, Australia's first and longest operating navigational light *The former Fort Macquarie on Bennelong Point * Macquarie Fields, now a suburb of Sydney but named by surveyor Evans after the governor


In Tasmania

* Macquarie Street, one of the principal streets of
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the 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, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
* Macquarie Street, one of the principal streets of the historic town of Evandale, a town he founded in 1811 * Macquarie Harbour, on the west coast *
Macquarie River The Macquarie River or Wambuul is part of the Macquarie–Barwon River (New South Wales), Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in the central highl ...
, a major
perennial river A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
in the
Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
region


In New South Wales

* Macquarie Pier, named after Governor Macquarie in 1818 by James Wallis, this is the breakwater at the mouth of the Hunter River for the port of Newcastle, linking Nobbys Head to the mainland at South Head (now Fort Scratchley) * The Macquarie Arms Hotel at
Windsor, New South Wales Windsor is a historic town in north-western Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It is the council Seat of government, seat of the City of Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Local government in Australia, local government area. The town sits on the Hawkesb ...
built in 1815. It ceased operating in 1840, but reopened in 1874 and has been used continuously as a hotel ever since * Lachlan Macquarie Ward,
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...


Many years after his governorship

*
Macquarie Park Macquarie Park () is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Macquarie Park is located 13 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government ...
and Macquarie Links, suburbs of Sydney * Macquarie Shopping Centre, North Ryde * Macquarie, a suburb of
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, Australia * Lachlan Street, Macquarie, Canberra, Australia * Division of Macquarie, one of the first 75
Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives Electorates (also known as electoral divisions or seats) of the Australian House of Representatives are single member electoral districts for the lower house of the Parliament of the Commonwealth. There are currently 150 electorates. Consti ...
created for the Australian Parliament in 1901


Institutions named after Macquarie

* Macquarie Hospital, Sydney *
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...
, Sydney * Macquarie Group, an investment bank created in 1985 using one of Governor Macquarie's "holey dollars" as its symbol * Macquarie Community College, an adult community education provider in northwest and western Sydney * Macquarie Grammar School, Sydney * Macquarie Correctional Centre, a male maximum security facility operated by Corrective Services New South Wales which is located in Wellington, New South Wales


Awards named afer Macquarie

* Lachlan Macquarie Award for Heritage, a national architecture award for heritage and conservation presented by the Australian Institute of Architects since 1983


Coat of arms


See also

* '' Historical Records of Australia''


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * State Library of NSW,
The Governor , Lachlan Macquarie 1810–1821
, 2010. . *


Further reading

* * * * Page, Anthony (2009)
"Enlightenment, Empire and Lachlan Macquarie's Journey Through Persia and Russia"
''History Australia'', 6:3, pp. 70.1-15. . * * Richards, D. Manning (2012). '' Destiny in Sydney: An Epic Novel of Convicts, Aborigines, and Chinese Embroiled in the Birth of Sydney, Australia''. First book in Sydney series. Washington, DC: Aries Books. . * * *


External links


The Macquarie Era – State Library of NSW

The Lachlan & Elizabeth Macquarie Archive – Macquarie University

Journeys in Time
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macquarie, Lachlan 1762 births 1824 deaths 71st Highlanders officers 73rd Regiment of Foot officers 84th Regiment of Foot officers Australian city founders Australian penal colony administrators British Army major generals British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Colony of New South Wales people Founders of Australian schools and colleges Governors of New South Wales Military personnel from Argyll and Bute National founders People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Scottish soldiers Settlers of Australia Ulva