John Macarthur (wool Pioneer) - Military Career

Military Career

In 1782, John Macarthur was commissioned as an ensign in Fish's Corps, a regiment of the British Army formed to serve in the American War of Independence. The war ended before the regiment was ready to sail and was disbanded in 1783. On half-pay, Macarthur went to live on a farm near Holsworthy in Devon, where he evidently pursued a program of self-education and became interested in 'rural occupations'. During the next five years Macarthur used his spare time to travel, read, and perhaps contemplate a future at the bar. Instead, in April 1788, Macarthur returned to full-pay army duties, securing a commission as an ensign in the 68th Foot (later Durham Light Infantry), a regiment which had been stationed at Gibraltar since 1785. Ensuing negotiations with the War Office resulted in an alternative posting to far-away Sydney, with the New South Wales Corps in 1789. He sailed on the Neptune in the Second Fleet, the 'worst ship in the worst of Australian fleets'. Before the Neptune had even departed the British Isles, Macarthur became involved in disputations with various personnel, including fighting a duel with Captain Gilbert, the Master of the Neptune. Further disputes were provoked by the cramped and squalid accommodation provided for his wife and infant son on board the Neptune. This eventually resulted in his family being transferred mid-voyage and on the high seas, to the Scarborough, another Second Fleet ship.

He arrived in Sydney in 1790 holding the rank of lieutenant and was appointed as commandant at Parramatta. In February 1793, the acting governor, Major Francis Grose, granted Macarthur 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land at Rose Hill near Parramatta. He was granted a further 100 acres (0.40 km2) in April 1794 for being the first man to clear and cultivate 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land. He named the property Elizabeth Farm in honour of his wife, Elizabeth Macarthur. Grose came to depend on Macarthur's administrative skills and appointed him as paymaster for the regiment and as superintendent of public works, which Macarthur resigned in 1796 to concentrate on his business and farming interests.

Macarthur was an argumentative man and quarreled with many of his neighbours and successive Governors. He was involved in a campaign alleging that Governor Hunter was ineffective and trafficked in rum. The allegations led to Hunter being forced to answer the charges and contributed to Hunter being recalled to England where he fought to try and restore his reputation.

In July 1801, Governor King overturned a sentence of one year's imprisonment for Lieutenant James Marshall of the Earl Cornwallis, who had been convicted of assaulting Macarthur and Captain Abbott during their investigation into a theft. King referred the matter for trial in England on the grounds that the court had refused to hear Marshall's objection to an officer of the NSW Corps hearing the case. Macarthur saw this as a slight, and tried to organise a petty social boycott of Governor King and when his superior, Colonel Paterson, refused to cooperate Macarthur used personal material to try and blackmail him. This resulted in Paterson challenging Macarthur to a duel in which Paterson was severely wounded in the shoulder. Governor King had Macarthur arrested then released him and appointed him as commandant on Norfolk Island to try and defuse things. Macarthur refused to comply and demanded a court martial by his fellow officers. King, realising that this would be pointless, sending Macarthur to England for trial. Macarthur sailed on the Hunter, departing Sydney in November 1801. On this same vessel, Governor Hunter had sent a 'very bulky' dispatch, denouncing Macarthur. This dispatch went missing, apparently during the voyage. According to Evatt, in Rum Rebellion, Macarthur had a powerful motive for stealing and destroying it. Evatt infers that Macarthur, 'or some close associate', was responsible.

One year later, when Macarthur reached England, the courts ruled that the matter should be tried in Sydney, where all the evidence and witnesses were. The Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, rebuked King for failing to deal with the matter himself, but confirmed that King's orders releasing Macarthur and transferring him to Norfolk Island stood. To avoid the posting, Macarthur resigned his commission, eventually returning to Sydney in 1805 after an absence of nearly four years to run his businesses as a private citizen. Governor King had declared while Macarthur was in London that, "if Captain Macarthur returns here in any official character, it should be that of Governor, as one-half the colony already belongs to him, and it will not be long before he gets the other half."