Elizabeth Macquarie
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Elizabeth Macquarie (; 1778–1835) was the second wife of
Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...
, who served as
Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...
from 1810 to 1821. She played a significant role in the establishment of the colony and is recognised in the naming of many Australian landmarks including
Mrs Macquarie's Chair Mrs Macquarie's Chair (also known as Lady Macquarie's Chair) is an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour. It was hand carved by convicts in 1810, for Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Major-Genera ...
and
Elizabeth Street, Hobart Elizabeth Street is the major street which runs southeast to northwest through the city and suburbs of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It was named by the Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, Lachlan Macquarie, after his wife Elizabe ...
. Governor Macquarie named the town (now city) of Campbelltown, New South Wales after his wife's maiden name and a statue of her now stands in Mawson Park, Campbelltown.


Biography

Born Elizabeth Henrietta Campbell, she was the youngest daughter of John Campbell of Airds,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. A distant cousin of Macquarie's she first met him at the age of 26 when he was an army officer. They were married three years later in 1807. Shortly after, in 1809, he was appointed to the governorship of New South Wales and she followed him. She is said to have taken a particular interest in the welfare of women
convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...
s and
indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
as well as helping pioneer
hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
-making in the colony. Elizabeth's Library of books on architecture were used by her husband and architect
Francis Greenway Francis Howard Greenway (20 November 1777 – September 1837) was an English-born architect who was transported to Australia as a convict for the crime of forgery. In New South Wales he worked for the Governor, Lachlan Macquarie, as Australia's ...
in the planning of government buildings. During her time in Australia she traveled to
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
in 1811, across the Blue Mountains in 1815, and in 1818 to the
Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...
. At the end of her husband's term, she returned with him to Scotland in 1823, living at the Macquarie estate of Jarvisfield on the
Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...
. The Macquaries had two children, Jane, a girl who died in infancy, and Lachlan, a boy. Jane was born in
Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...
, on 15 September 1808, but died aged 3 months. The younger Lachlan was born in Sydney in 1814, married Isabella Campbell in 1836, and died without children in May 1845, aged 31. Following her husband's death in London in 1824, Macquarie lived with a £400 pension from the British government. From 1825 to 1828 she lived in Surrey and Middlesex, spending summers at Jarvisfield. In 1828-29 she lived in London at 58 Upper Charlotte Street in a house that was bequeathed to her by her friend Henrietta Meredith. In 1830 she moved to
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, returning to Jarvisfield the next year when her husband purchased a commission in the Army. She died at Gruline House on 11 March 1835, and was posthumously granted of land in New South Wales. ''In her own words,'' a collection of her journal writings and letters transcribed and annotated by Robin Walsh, was published in 2011.


Places named after/in honour of Elizabeth Macquarie

* Elizabeth Street, a principal street of
Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...
* Campbell Street, a principal street of Hobart, Tasmania * Elizabeth Street, Sydney, one of the principal streets of Sydney * Elizabeth Bay, a bay of Port Jackson and suburb of Sydney *
Mrs Macquarie's Chair Mrs Macquarie's Chair (also known as Lady Macquarie's Chair) is an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour. It was hand carved by convicts in 1810, for Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Major-Genera ...
, a rock cut into a chair shape on Mrs Macquarie's Point, a peninsula in
Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
* The original, no longer extant, Mrs Macquarie's Road, also known as Lady Macquarie's Road, which ran from the original Government House (now the
Museum of Sydney The Museum of Sydney is a historical collection and exhibit, built on the ruins of the house of New South Wales' first Governor, Arthur Phillip, on the present-day corner of Phillip and Bridge Street, Sydney. Description The original house, ...
) to Mrs Macquarie's Point * Mrs Macquaries Road, a modern road in
The Domain, Sydney The Domain is a heritage-listed area of open space located on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Separating the central business district from ...
*
Macquarie Culvert The Macquarie Culvert is a double brick culvert under the original Mrs Macquarie's Road (also known as Lady Macquarie's Road) in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia. The culvert was probably built at the same time as the original roa ...
- a culvert under the original Mrs Macquarie's Road *
Campbelltown, New South Wales Campbelltown is a suburb located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney south-west of the Sydney central business district by road. Campbelltown is the admini ...
, a town founded in 1820, one of a series of settlements south-west of Sydney being established by Macquarie at that time *
Appin, New South Wales Appin is a town in the Macarthur Region on Tharawal country near its boundary with Gandangara country, New South Wales, Australia in Wollondilly Shire. It is situated about south of Campbelltown and north west of Wollongong. History Early ...
, a town founded in 1811, which takes its name from
Appin Appin ( gd, An Apainn) is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies northe ...
, the Scottish West Highlands town where Elizabeth was born *
Airds, New South Wales Airds is a predominantly residential suburb of Sydney. Houses within the suburb are owned by Housing NSW. History Governor Lachlan Macquarie named the region Airds, after the Scottish family estate of his wife Elizabeth. Airds appeared i ...
, a suburb in south-western Sydney, which takes its name from Elizabeth's Scottish family estate. This is to be distinguished from the District of Airds, a name given by Governor Macquarie, in use still in the name of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society. * Meredith Island off the coast of New South Wales, reportedly named after a friend of Mrs Elizabeth Macquarie * A statue of Mrs Macquarie by Mr Tom Bass stands in Mawson Park in Campbelltown, New South Wales.


References


Further reading

* *


External links


The Lachlan & Elizabeth Macquarie Archive - Macquarie University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macquarie, Elizabeth 1778 births 1835 deaths Scottish emigrants to Australia Spouses of New South Wales Governors 19th-century Australian people 18th-century Australian women 19th-century Australian women