Important People 4 - Governor Macquarie

Governor Lachlan Macquarie arrived in NSW at the end of 1809 and replaced William Bligh after the tumult of the "Rum Rebellion". He is regarded as the most successful of the early governors through his  reforming of the administration and embarking on a program of developing roads and public buildings.

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/macquarie-lachlan-2419

Portrait around 1819

In 1810 he undertook a tour of the western and south-western areas of the colony. During this trip he initiated and named the four "Macquarie Towns" - Windsor, Richmond, Wilberforce and Castlereagh.

He was concerned with the state of the farms along the Nepean and the frequency of flooding, so he ordered that Castlereagh township would be established on the higher ground to the east. William Cox was commissioned to build the church and parsonage for the Reverend Henry Fulton on Church Street.

Original street plan for Castlereagh

The town didn't succeed as soil quality and water were an issue and farmers preferred to remain near the river. Church Lane, Church Street and the old cemetery are reminders of its location.

During his visit Macquarie also met some of the Aboriginal people and was determined to improve their lot. He invited Aboriginal leaders to a feast at Government house and set up the Native Institute at Parramatta.  Yarramundi of the Boorooberongal people sent his young daughter to be educated there and she became a real trailblazer for her people.

Part of his expansion program was to find a way over the Blue Mountains and he rewarded Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth for finding a way over them. He commissioned William Cox to build the first road over and travelled on it in 1815.