Introduction

Lachlan Macquarie took office as governor of New South Wales on 1 January 1810. To help celebrate his bicentenary (and maybe assist students), these web pages aim to provide links and information on Macquarie's governorship.

It will be interesting to observe the extent and nature of the celebration of the Macquarie bicentenary. What will it reveal about the man? Will the traditional view prevail, of Lachlan Macquarie as the champion of the emancipist cause and prolific builder of public works, the 'Father of Australia' who transformed a penal colony into a place suitable for the free?

Or will a critical re-appraisal of his governorship diverge sufficiently from the idealised view to acknowledge his weaknesses and failures, his at times corrupt, mercenary conduct and self interest, and his sometimes harsh, intemperate and even irrational decisions?

What will the bicentenary reveal about historians and the discipline of history? From a post-colonial perspective, how will the accounts of this 'successful' white European male be presented and how will they resonate among those who now seek a more diverse, more nuanced and more inclusive account of this period of Australia's history?

At State government level, a degree of ambivalence has already emerged. On the one hand there is now an official Macquarie bicentenary website , the Premier has appointed a bicentenary committee and encouraged government agencies to participate in the celebrations (details ). On the other hand a statue of Lachlan Macquarie was unceremoniously removed from the grounds of NSW Parliament House in recent months (Daily Telegraph ).