Captain Bligh
Reynolds, Sir Joshua
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John Macarthur’s feuds
with the Governors of Australia
By Elizabeth
Palmer
John Macarthur is
probably best remembered for his contribution to the Australian wool industry,
but for his contemporaries John Macarthur was well-known as a man determined to
get what he wanted and not at all reluctant to oppose those who stood in his
way. Hunter, one of the many governors
he clashed with, described Macarthur as “restless, ambitious and litigious”.
His Australian
conflicts started before he had even stepped foot on her shores. As a lieutenant in the New South Wales
Corps, Macarthur travelled in the second fleet to Australia, during which he
fought a duel with the captain of the Neptune and quarrelled with his
successor.
The first two
Governors that ruled Australia, Governors Phillip and Grose, posed no real problems
for Macarthur, despite a small reprimand from Governor Phillip. The next Governor, Governor Hunter, was a
different matter.
Macarthur became
involved in a dispute with the Judge-Advocate, Richard Atkins, who issues a
warrant for the arrest of Macarthur after he refused to answer a summon for
allowing his schooner to come unauthorised on shore. Governor Hunter took Atkins side. After a series of letters to London, in which Macarthur severely
criticised Hunter for the way he was governing the colony, Hunter was recalled
to England.
The next quarrel
Macarthur was involved in was with Governor King, the reason for which isn’t
clear, but appears to be related to legal proceedings. He tried to discredit King, but not everyone
was so easily influenced. His
commanding officer, William Paterson, was so offended by Macarthur’s words
against King that he challenged him to a duel.
King arrested Macarthur and sent him to England for trial, but the
charges were vague and there were no witnesses. To rub salt into King’s wound, Macarthur was not only set free
but brought with him an order for the Government to issue him 5,000 acres of
land and the pick of the Merino sheep from the Royal flock.
It was this land
grant, and Bligh’s opposition to granting it, which was to start the bad
relations between Bligh and Macarthur, bad relations which would escalate in
the Rum Rebellion. These two very
stubborn men, equally sure of their own rightness, were perhaps doomed to conflict
with each other. One thing was sure –
an argument between them would not be easily settled.
In the beginning of
1808, Bligh arrested Macarthur over his previous actions in resisting the
warrant issued by Atkins over the schooner.
The Captain of the New South Wales Corps, George Johnston, ordered
Macarthur’s release. When Bligh
refused, Johnston deposed Bligh and took command, giving Macarthur the post of
Colonial Secretary.
Macarthur returned
to England in 1809, to support Johnston during his court-martial. Although Macarthur could not be prosecuted,
as he was a civilian, instructions were given to Governor Macquarie to
prosecute Macarthur as soon as he returned to New South Wales.
Macarthur stayed in
England until 1897, when he returned to Australia. He argued with Macquarie over the granting of land. Macarthur behaved in his usual way and tried
to discredit the Governor.
Surprisingly,
Macarthur’s feuds with governors seem to stop there. He was on friendly terms with both Brisbane and Darling. Perhaps it would not be too far-fetched to
suggest that they saw the wisdom of keeping Macarthur on side.
Later in life,
Macarthur was proclaimed insane.
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