‘Lachlan Macquarie made a very positive contribution to the development of
the state of New South Wales in the years 1809–21.’ How far do you agree with
this statement?
Criteria:
In order for Lachlan Macquarie to have made a very positive contribution to the
development of the state of New South Wales, his governorship must have led to
significant positive social and political developments, as well as improvements in
infrastructure and the economy of New South Wales. Whilst Lachlan Macquarie did
indeed see success in such in many ways, his treatment of native Aboriginals and
his punitive measures towards convicts, meant that he cannot, on the whole, be
assessed as having made a “very positive contribution”, as this is too simplistic and
does not take into account the less-positive social, political and economic impacts he
had on New South Wales.
Para 1: Economic + infrastructure improvements
● To an extent, Macquarie was successful in developing the state of New South
Wales because his governorship led to considerable improvements in
infrastructure and in the economy
● Under Lachlan Macquarie, infrastructure in new south wales improved and
was developed extensively
● Macquarie initiated several public works projects, such as the construction of
roads, bridges and public buildings, which opened up the colony to trade and
commerce
● Evidently, he built 440 km of roads and initiated the construction of 265 public
buildings
● This illustrates Macquarie’s success in the economic field, as the colony was
massively improved, having been transformed almost entirely from a prison, a
dumping ground and a barren land in disarray, to a much more self-sufficient
and prosperous economy
● Moreover, in 1810, 5 ‘Macquarie’ towns were founded, including Richmond,
Windsors, Pitt Town and Wilberforce
● Each town had a church, a school and an Inn
● In addition, the ‘Rum Hospital’ had been built, which was in the centre of
Sydney and was the largest structure ever built in the colony
● These works and developments in infrastructure improved the economy of the
colony considerably because they provided employment and development for
convicts and free settlers, which helped boost the growing economy
● He also introduced a new, stable currency (silver currency) in 1812
● Therefore, Macqaurie did indeed have a significantly positive impact on the
development of New South Wales, as the economy grew massively,
unemployment was prevented and infrastructure improved considerably
Para 2: Social and political improvements
, ● Moreover, when looking at Macquarie’s social and political developments
within New South Wales, it can be seen that he was largely successful
● To start with, the first significant change made by Lachlan Macquaie was the
removal of the New South Wales Corps.
● He saw that the Corps had assumed too much power when Philip departed
and maintained it until 1809 when they controlled the rum economy and
undermined governors when communicating with london. Thus he reigned
them in
● He replaced them with the 73rd regiment under his direct command
● The removal of the New South Wales Corps meant that the colony ceased to
operate as a cartel run by the freeborn officers and returned control to the
Governor
● Therefore, he saw developments in the social/ political field as he restored law
and order following the rum rebellion and proved that this was not to be
repeated
● Moreover, Macquarie introduced social reforms to help rectify the social
issues that had been created under the Rum Years
● Firstly, he introduced limitations on alcohol consumptions to ensure that
labourers focused on projects
● He did this by closing public houses during religious services and reducing
them in number
● This made the convict workforce more productive and compounded the
economic developments that Macaques had already made, as mentioned
earlier
● Therefore, Macquarie successful ensured high moral standards were kept in
New South Wales, and restored law and order showing he did indeed make
positive developments
Para 3:
● However, Lachlan Macquarie cannot be assessed as having made an entirely
positive contrition to the development of new south wales as some elements
of Macquarie's tenure can be criticised as having been detrimental to
development or overly harsh
● To start with, he took punitive measures against convicts or reoffenders
● Evidently, he used 100 lashings for minor transgressions and he introduced
relocation to the notorious van diemen’s land or norfolk island
● These were all criticised in the Bigge report as being too harsh
● Not only was this criticised, but the autocratic line he took alienated many
settlers
● On top of this, he did not have an entirely positive contribution because the
economy, under the governorship of Macquarie, was still threatened by
famine for most of his time in office
, ● Also, Macquarie’s policy with Aboriginals did not show promising results and
in 1816 after signs of ungrateful hostility, Macquarie organised a military drive
to chasten them.
● In 1816 Macquarie organised a punitive party against the aborigines - 14
aboriginal people were killed
● Therefore, it can be seen that Macquarie’s tenure did have some detrimental
effects on the development of the colony, particularly concerning relations
with the aborigines, thus his development of the colony cannot be assessed
as entirely successful
Conclusion:
To conclude, although Macquarie’s contribution to the development of the colony
was criticised in the Bigge Report as being ineffective, and though he did not create
perfect relations with the Aboriginals, it is clear that Macquarie made overwhelmingly
positive contributions to the process of developing the state of New South Wales. It
is clear that Macquarie dramatically boosted the economy, returned the state to
relative stability following the rum rebellions, improved the productivity and moral
practices of the state, and massively developed infrastructure. Therefore, he can be
considered to have had an almost wholly positive impact on the development of New
South Wales.
https://studysaurus.com/essays/lachlan-macquarie-made-a-very-positive-
contribution-to-the-development-of-the-state-of-new-south-wales-between-1809-and-
1821-how-far-do-you-agree-with-this-statement
, ‘The policies and tenure of Lachlan Macquarie as Governor between 1809-1821
is the primary reason for the development of Australia between 1788 and
1829’. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Criteria:
In order to be the primary reason for the development of Australia 1788-1829, the
policies and tenure of Lachlan Macquarie as Governor must have been the
fundamental cause of economic, political and social improvements in Australia within
these years.
Para 1: Policies and tenure YES
● To a certain extent, the policies and tenure of Lachlan Macquarie as governor
was indeed the primary reason for the development of Australia
● Macquarie recognised the need for infrastructure development in Australia
and initiated several projects to improve such
● He oversaw the construction of numerous roads, bridges and public buildings,
including the Rum Hospital and various schools and courthouses
● Evidently, he had 440 km of roads built and he initiated the construction of
265 public buildings
● This was key in the development of Australia as the economy grew
considerably, and convict experience was improved because unemployment
decreased. These works and developments in infrastructure improved the
economy of the colony considerably because they provided employment and
development for convicts and free settlers, which helped boost the growing
economy.
● Moreover, Macquarie established policies to encourage settlers to acquire
land and build homes, and he provided assistance and incentives to those
who did so.
● He did so through the use of land grants to convicts. This helped to develop
society as convicts were rehabilitated and engaging in life in NSW
● He also created Macquarie towns. In 1810, 5 ‘Macquarie’ towns were
founded, including Richmond, Windsors, Pitt Town and Wilberforce. Each
town had a church, a school and an Inn
● All of these boosted the growing economy and meant inhabitants were more
content with life in New South Wales
● Establishment of a new currency in 1812. Macquarie was able to do this as he
imported 40,000 Spanish dollars.
● The new currency, the Holy dollar, meant the economy no longer relied on
Rum. This also allowed the colony to establish its first bank in 1817.
● Macquaire reduced dependency on British imports, and focussed on self-
sufficiency. He achieved this by encouraging local production of various
goods and commodities, such as wool and timber.
● Moreover, he led to social developments as he improved the morality of the
population.
