Lieutenant-Colonel George Johnston (19 March 1764 – 5 January 1823) was a

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

officer and colonial administrator who served as the

Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales The lieutenant-governor of New South Wales is a government position in the state of New South Wales, Australia, acting as a deputy to the governor of New South Wales. The office was first created in October 1786, before the arrival of the First ...

from 1794 to 1795 and again from 1806 to 1808. After serving 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 ...

, he served in the East Indies theatre of the French Revolutionary Wars before volunteering to accompany the

First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

which established the

colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

in 1788. In New South Wales, Johnston served as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to Governor

Arthur Phillip Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New South Wales, governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Royal Hospital School, Gree ...

before joining the

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 ...

, and played a key role in suppressing the

Castle Hill convict rebellion The Castle Hill convict rebellion was a Convicts in Australia, convict rebellion in Castle Hill, New South Wales, Castle Hill, Sydney, then part of the British colony of New South Wales. Led by veterans of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the poorly ...

in 1804. He led his troops in deposing 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 ...

in the

Rum Rebellion The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a ''coup d'état'' in the British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, its name derives from the ...

in 1808, which led to Johnston to being court-martialled and cashiered from the military. In his later life, he returned to New South Wales as a private citizen, raising a family in the colony and establishing a successful farm around Annandale in Sydney.

Early life and military career

Johnston was born on 19 March 1764 at Annan,

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

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 ...

, the son of Captain George Johnston, aide-de-camp to Lord Percy, later the 2nd Duke of Northumberland. Percy obtained a commission for the 12-year-old Johnston as second lieutenant of

marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

on 6 March 1776. Johnston went to America with his regiment, and took part in the

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

, serving in New York and Halifax during 1777 and 1778, after which he was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

.Yarwood 1967, pp. 20–22. During the campaign, his father was killed. The Duke of Northumberland, who had held Johnston's father in high regard, became Johnston's guardian. The young officer subsequently acted as a recruiting officer in the United Kingdom before serving aboard in the East Indies in 1781, and suffering a severe wound in action against the French.Binney 2005, p. 25.Moore 1987, pp. 296–297. Returned to garrison duty in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, he volunteered to join the

New South Wales Marine Corps The New South Wales Marine Corps was a battalion-sized unit of the British Marine Forces created to guard convicts aboard the First Fleet to Australia, and to preserve "subordination and regularity" in the colony of New South Wales. Establi ...

, which would accompany the

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 ...

. He sailed for Australia aboard the convict transport '' Lady Penrhyn'' in 1788.

New South Wales

On arrival in New South Wales, Johnston served as adjutant to Governor

, and was promoted in 1789 to the rank of

Captain-Lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Fin ...

of Marines. He transferred from the New South Wales Marine Corps to the locally raised

in 1791 with the rank of captain.Serle 1949. Johnston received extensive land grants in areas of modern Petersham,

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 19 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Bankstown is the administrative centre ...

and

Cabramatta Cabramatta, also abbreviated as Cabra, is a suburb in South Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local gove ...

. Johnston's other grants included land which is now the suburb of Annandale, named for his property that was in turn named after the place of his birth. He and

Esther Abrahams Esther Abrahams (born c. 1767 or 1771 – died 26 August 1846) was a Londoner sent to Australia as a convict on the First Fleet. She was de facto wife of George Johnston, who was for six months acting Governor of New South Wales after leading ...

farmed and lived on Annandale with their children. In September 1796, Johnston was appointed aide-de-camp to Governor John Hunter, and in 1800 received his

brevet rank In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. In the same year Johnston was put under arrest by Lieutenant Governor William Paterson on charges of "paying spirits to a sergeant as part of his pay—and disobedience of orders". Johnston objected to trial by court-martial in the colony, and Hunter sent him to England. There the difficulties of conducting a trial with witnesses in Australia led to the proceedings being dropped, and Johnston returned to New South Wales in 1802. In 1803 Johnston took temporary command of the New South Wales Corps during the illness of Paterson, and became involved in the conflict between

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

and the military. In March 1804 he acted with decision when in command of the military sent against some convicts who had rebelled at Castle Hill. When Paterson was sent to

Port Dalrymple George Town (palawa kani: ''kinimathatakinta'') is a large town in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. The Australian Bureau of Statistics records the George Town Municipal Area had a population of 6,764 as ...

, Johnston became commander of the New South Wales Corps. On 26 January 1808, Johnston played a key role in the only successful armed takeover of a government in Australia's recorded history, the

, working closely with John Macarthur. Johnston led the troops that deposed Governor William Bligh, assumed the title of lieutenant-governor, and illegally suspended the judge-advocate and other officials. The administration of justice became farcical, and there were signs of strong discontent among the settlers. Johnston was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel on 25 April 1808, and was superseded by his senior officer

Joseph Foveaux Joseph Foveaux (1767 – 20 March 1846) was a soldier and convict settlement administrator in colonial New South Wales, Australia. He was also a sheep grazier and breeder, being the largest landholder in New South Wales by 1800. Early life Fovea ...

, who was Lieutenant-Governor of

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

, on 28 July. Johnston sailed for England with John Macarthur in March 1809 (and

Henry Fulton Henry Fulton (1761 – 17 November 1840) was a Church of Ireland curate who, as a United Irishman in 1798, was transported to New South Wales where in the Rum Rebellion, and the subsequent inquiries, he took the part of Governor William Bligh. __ ...

as a witness) and was tried by

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

in May 1811. Found guilty of mutiny he was sentenced to be

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...

. This lenience of the sentence imposed in the circumstances presumably indicates that the court was convinced that he had been the tool of other people.

Later life

Johnston returned to New South Wales in May 1813 as a private individual and in November the following year at St John's Church in Parramatta he married

, a Jewish convict whom he had met on the transport ''Lady Penrhyn'' in 1787. The couple had already had seven children together by that time, and they lived on his land at

Annandale Farm Annandale Farm was situated from Sydney in the present day suburbs of Stanmore, New South Wales, Stanmore and Annandale, New South Wales, Annandale. Built by George Johnston (British Marines officer), George Johnston, it became one of the most s ...

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 ...

.Silver 1989, p. 121.Da Cruz 2015, p. 22. He died much respected on 5 January 1823, leaving a large family. He was first interred in a private mausoleum on his Annandale property, until its subdivision to become an inner-city suburb. His remains were moved to a new mausoleum at

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a Heritage register, heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte, New South Wales, Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, ...

in 1904. The suburb of

Georges Hall Georges Hall, a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 24 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is part of the South-western Sydney regi ...

is named after the farmhouse of the same name on land grants Johnston received near the junction of the

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, that is located in Sydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the Sydney central business district, w ...

and Prospect Creek. This building still exists, and is now one of Australia's oldest houses. Johnston and Esther Abrahams and their children farmed and lived on Annandale until the 1870s, when the property was sold and sub-divided for residential development. The main street of Annandale is named after Johnston, and the gates of their property now stand in the grounds of Annandale Public School.

Notes

References

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External links