Later Life
On his return to NSW Macarthur devoted himself to his farming. Wool had great advantages as an industry for New South Wales, which because of its distance from European markets needed a commodity which did not perish during long sea-voyages and which offered high value per unit of weight. Wool also had a ready market in England because the Napoleonic Wars had increased demand and cut English cloth-makers off from their traditional source of quality wool, Spain. The export of wool soon made Macarthur the richest man in New South Wales. In 1822, The Society for the Arts in London awarded him two medals for exporting 150,000 lb (68,000 kg) of wool to England and for increasing the quality of his wool to that of the finest Saxon Merino.
In the early 1820s, John Macarthur was an owner of more than 100 horses. He established Camden Park Stud and was a major provider of bloodhorses. His sons, James and William Macarthur, followed in his footsteps and became important Thoroughbred owners and breeders.
Macarthur established Australia's first commercial vineyard. He imported vine plants when he returned to New South Wales in 1817, which he successfully cultivated at Camden Park. He was a founding investor in both the Australian Agricultural Company (London 1824) and the Bank of Australia (1826). His involvement in the Rum Rebellion blocked him from being appointed as a magistrate in 1822 but in 1825 he was nominated to the NSW Legislative Council where he served until 1832 when he was suspended due to his failing mental health.
John Macarthur died at Camden on 10 April 1834. His numerous and wealthy descendants remained influential in New South Wales affairs for many years. As the Macarthur-Stanhams and Macarthur-Onslows they are still wealthy but no longer prominent in public life.
Read more about this topic: John Macarthur (wool Pioneer)
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