Guide to the Papers of Lachlan Macquarie and the Macquarie
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Guide to the papers of LACHLAN MACQUARIE and the MACQUARIE FAMILY in the Mitchell Library State Library of New South Wales Described by Warwick Hirst of the Manuscripts Section in 1988 Description of pictorial material and relics by Judy Nelson of the Pictures Section in 1988. Library Council of New South Wales Sydney, 1990 CONTENTS Part 1 : pages 1-53 Provenance Note i Biographical Note ii-iii Manuscripts Lachlan Macquarie General Description of papers, 1787 - 1824 1-2 (ZA768-Z A802, B156) Detailed Contents List of papers, 1787 - 1824 (ZA768-Z A802, B156) Journals, 1787 - 1824 3-16 Letterbooks, 1793 - 1810, 1822 - 1823 17-21 Correspondence, 1809 - 1822 22 Commissions, 1801, 1802, 1809, and Address, 1821 23-24 Narratives, 1817 - 1821 Miscellaneous 25-26 Papers, 1808 - 1820 27 Index to correspondents (Z A772, Z A774, Z A787-Z A797, A800-1) 28-47 Description of selected correspondence and miscellaneous 48 papers, 1809 - 1821, c.1824 (Z SI/51, 53) Description of the odes of Michael Massey Robinson (Z SI/92) 49-50 Description of Government and General Orders issued by 51 Lachlan Macquarie, 1813 - 1815 (Z D356-2) Single letters and fragments (ML MSS 4199, S2/8) 52-53 PROVENANCE NOTE The papers, pictures, relics and books of Lachlan Macquarie and his family described in this guide comprise all those original items which can be considered to have remained in his personal possession or that of his wife and son. They do not include any items which form part of the collections of other persons. For example, letters written by Macquarie may be found among the Wentworth Papers (Z A752-Z A754, Z A757) and the Piper Papers (Z A256). Similarly, portraits of Macquarie not owned or commissioned by him are not included in this guide. The Macquarie papers have come to the Mitchell Library from many sources. The majority of them including his letter books, 1793 - 1822 and most of his journals, 1807 - 1824, were acquired from Margaret, Viscountess Strathallan in January 1914. A year earlier she had proposed selling her collection at auction through Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge. (A copy of the sale catalogue is located at QA923.59/M173/2A1 p.39). However the papers were obtained by private purchase on behalf of the Mitchell Library before the auction took place. It is probable that these papers accompanied Lachlan Macquarie on his return to England from N.S.W. in 1822. On his death in 1824 they formed part of his estate which passed to his son, Lachlan, in whose custody or that of his mother, they presumably remained until Lachlan the younger's death in 1845. Lachlan the younger left part of his estate, including most of his father's papers, to his close friend William Henry Drummond, later the 9th Viscount Strathallan. It was from the widow of the 10th Viscount that the papers were subsequently acquired by the Mitchell Library. Another substantial portion of the Macquarie papers, including all except one of Lachlan Macquarie's Indian journals, 1787 - 1807 and Mrs. Macquarie's journal, 1809 was acquired in Scotland from Colonel Campbell in June 1914. It seems likely that Colonel Campbell was related to Lachlan the younger's wife who was the daughter of Colin Campbell of Jura. A third major body of material, comprising manuscripts, relics, pictures and printed books was presented to the Library by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Graham Campbell of Jura, Argyllshire, Scotland at various times between 1962 and 1976. Mr. Campbell was the great nephew of Lachlan the younger's wife. The sources of the remaining papers are various and provenance details are given under the entries for each item. i. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Lachlan Macquarie was born on 31 Jan. 1762 on the island of Ulva in the Scottish Hebrides (1). Details of his education are unknown. In 1776 he joined the British Army as a volunteer. He was commissioned the following year and served in Canada, America and Jamaica before being posted to Bombay in 1788 as a lieutenant in the 77th Regiment. While in India he saw much active service including the seige of Cochin (1795) and the battle of Seringapatam (1799). In 1793 he married Jane Jarvis, a West Indian heiress who was living in Bombay. The marriage was brief as she died of tuberculosis three years later. In 1801, while military secretary to Jonathon Duncan, Governor of Bombay, Macquarie was appointed deputy-adjutant-general of Sir David Baird's army in Egypt. In 1803 he returned to England when he acted as assistant-adjutant-general of the London District under the Earl of Harrington. During this period he met Elizabeth Campbell of Airds who became his second wife in 1807. On returning to Bombay in 1805 he learned of his promotion to lieutenant-colonel of the 73rd Regiment. After serving in the north he left India in 1807 for the last time, sailing to the Persian Gulf and then making his way to London via Persia and Russia. In 1808 he was appointed Governor of New South Wales in place of William Bligh. The following year he sailed for Sydney accompanied by his wife, entering Port Jackson on 28 December and taking up his commission on 1 January 1810. One of his first concerns was to deal with public morality which he considered to be in a deplorable state. He denounced cohabitation outside of marriage, reduced the number of public houses and regulated against profanation of the Sabbath. He early perceived the need to expand the boundaries of the colony and strongly encouraged exploration, planning new townships in outlying districts and newly discovered territories. He sought to introduce improved agricultural methods during his own tours of inspection which ranged from Port Macquarie in the north to Hobart in the south. On several of these arduous journeys he was accompanied by Mrs. Macquarie who gave him loyal support throughout his administration of the colony. In 1813 he learned of his promotion to major-general and one year later his son, also named Lachlan, was born. Macquarie's administration was particularly notable for his liberal attitude towards emancipists. He believed that ex-convicts, where merited, should be restored to their former rank in society. In adopting this policy he appointed emancipists to positions of authority in the public service and even entertained them at Government House, actions which ii. aroused the hostility of the colonial gentry and the military. This concern was also evident in his policy regarding the Aborigines. He attempted to introduce them to the agricultural methods of Europe, he organized annual native festivals at Parramatta and opened the first school for Aboriginal children. His extensive and farsighted public works programme, in which Mrs. Macquarie took a keen interest, was also the subject of criticism, this time from the Home Government which considered it far too extravagant. In order to ascertain the true state of the colony the government, in 1819, appointed John Thomas Bigge as commissioner of enquiry. His report, issued in 1822-23, contained much criticism of Macquarie's administration, especially his emancipist policy and the magnitude of the public works programme. To Macquarie, the report was 'false vindictive and malicious'(2), but it was not until 1828 that the Government could be induced to publish, as a Parliamentary paper, his answer to Bigge. Meanwhile Macquarie had resigned in 1821 and returned to England where he expended considerable effort attempting to vindicate his actions and restore his reputation. He was eventually granted a pension of £1000 in 1824 but died shortly afterwards, on 1 July. Mrs. Macquarie continued to live on her late husband's estate of 'Jarvisfield' on the island of Mull until her death in 1835. Their son, Lachlan, entered the army, rising to the rank of captain before resigning his commission. He married, but died childless in 1845. REFERENCES 1. This is the date given in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and also inscribed in one of the Macquarie Family Bibles held by the Mitchell Library (B1685 -1 ) However Macquarie's major biographers, M.H. Ellis and John Ritchie, prefer 31 Jan. 1761 and this is also the date inscribed on his mausoleum on the Island of Mull 2. Lachlan Macquarie, Journal Commencing at London on 30th November 1822 , Z A776, p.736 BIBLIOGRAPHY Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol.2 ; 1788 - 1850, Melbourne U.P., 1967 Ellis, M.H., Lachlan Macquarie, Discovery Press, Penrith, 1972. Orig.ed.1947 Press cuttings etc on Governor Macquarie, 1810, 1889 - 1922, ML QA923.59/M173/2A1 Ritchie, John, Lachlan Macquarie, Melbourne U.P., 1986 iii. 4-226 C MACQUARIE, LACHLAN ZA768-ZA802, B156 Papers, 1787 - 1824, being mainly journals, memoranda, correspondence, commissions, and address. MS., printed. 39v.; 1.10m. Provenance listed individually in detailed contents list Lachlan Macquarie, 1762 - 1824, was born on Ulva in the Scottish Hebrides. He joined the British Army in 1776 and served in Canada, America and Jamaica. From 1787 to 1807 he served in India rising to the command of the 73rd regiment. He married Elizabeth Henrietta Campbell in 1807 and a son, Lachlan, was born seven years later. In 1809 he was appointed Governor of N.S.W. and served in that position until 1821 when he returned to England. Vol. A768 -1 Guide and index to correspondents compiled in the Mitchell Library, 65ff. Vols. Z A768 -2 - Z A 786 I. Journals, 1787 - 1824 Vols. Z A768-2 - Z A776 i. Journals kept in India, Egypt, Great Britain and New South Wales, 1787 - 1824, together with memoranda and selected letters. Record i.a. social life and military operations in India, his first and second marriages, return overland to England, tour of North East Scotland, official duties and social life in London and N.S.W., grand tour of Europe.