Illustrated Sydney News (NSW : 1881 - 1894), Saturday 19 December 1891, page 22


The name of John Macarthur stands out

with conspicuous boldness as one of the pioneers who laid the foundations of Aus-tralian nationality. By his impetuous and impulsive nature he not only made history for himself but also for the colony of New South Wales. His foresight and enter-prise turned the natural advantages of the country, into the channel which in

due time led to that marvellous volume of

industrial prosperity with which his name

Colonel Johnston.

will always be associated in our traditions. He was born at Plymouth, Devonshire, in 1767, and came of a Jacobite family. His father and uncles fought for Prince Charlie at Culloden. He entered the army, but on the close of the American War, when his regiment was disbanded, he purchased a commission in the New South Wales corps and, accompanied by his young wife, came

out to the colony with Governor Phillip, in 1890. He obtained a grant of 200 acres of land at Parramatta. In January, 1793, during Governor Phillip's absence in England, he was appointed Resident at Parramatta by Lieutenant-Governor Grose, who found himself personally unable to manage the whole of the affairs of Government, owing to the spread of the settlements.' Grose styled him 'Coun-

sellor.' In 1796, when the colony was suffering from a dearth of provisions, two sloops, the ' Reliance ' and ' Supply,' were despatched, under command of Captains Kent and Waterhouse, to the Cape of Good Hope for relief supplies. It hap-pened that on their arrival there some merino sheep from the celebrated Escurial flock, which had been presented to the

Dutch, by the King of Spain, were about to be sold. The Cape Dutch knew nothing of their worth, but Kent and Waterhouse did, and purchased twenty of them. Macarthur obtained five ewes and three rams as his

share of them. Unlike the other colonists, who gave their attention only to the butchers' market, he carefully preserved his sheep, and increased their number, in order to improve the quality of his wool. This was the begin-

ning of our great wool industry,

and obtained for Macarthur the dis-tinction of 'Father of the colony.' His impulsive disposition, however, got him into many troubles, Some time about 1800 he was involved in a quarrel between Governor King and the officers of the New South Wales Corps over the traffic in spirits. He fought a duel with Colonel Paterson, who sided with King, in which he dan-gerously wounded his opponent. He was put under arrest and ordered to Norfolk Island for service, but was afterwards required to enter into recognisances to keep the peace. This he declined to do ; he de-manded a court-martial, and refused to quit arrest. King accordingly sent him to England, but he was ordered back by the Horse Guards, who considered the Governor had erred in judgment, and released Macarthur from arrest. He then retired from military service, and devoted himself to his favourite pursuit of sheep-farming and the export of wool to England. He gave great attention to growing pure and crossbred wools. Whilst in England he was examined by a committee of the Privy Council, at the instance of wool manu-facturers, on the subject of wool-growing in Australia, and Lord Camden ordered that a grant of 2000 acres be made to him.

This land he selected at the Cowpastures, Camden. He brought with him on his return to the colony two merino ewes and three rams from the flock of George III.

In 1806 he got at loggerheads with Governor Bligh over a number of matters, in which it was thought the Governor acted highhandedly. The most serious rupture was his arrest and committal for 'high misdemeanours,' or alleged breach of post regulations in con-cealing an escaped prisoner on his schooner, the ' Parramatta.' This was a cause célebre that created immense excitement, as well as disorder, amongst judge, advocate, officials, and military. The upshot of the matter was the deposi-tion of Bligh himself by Colonel Johnston, under strong pressure from the civic and military elements, to 'prevent insurrec-tion.' Macarthur was subsequently tried before the Criminal court, to clear him from the imputations, and was unani-mously acquitted.

He died on April 10, 1834. A memorial window of him has been placed in Camden Church, and his son, General Sir Edward Macarthur, placed a window in St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, in honour of both his parents. His son, Mr. James Macarthur, who died in 1867, left a daughter, who is married to Captain

Onslow.

THE NEW CRUISER : TWENTY KNOTS AN HOUR.-The new cruiser ' Tribune ' satis-

factorily passed through her final trials in the North sea on October 3. She proved capable of steaming twenty knots per hour under forced draught.