Macquarie : From Colony to Country

In 1810 Lachlan Macquarie became governor of New South Wales. He ruled the colony for twelve years, during which time its fate lay in the balance after years of famine and strife, culminating in a coup against its previous governor, William Bligh. The story of Macquarie's governorship is in many ways the story of early Australian history. No other governor etched his identity so indelibly on his times, nor left his name so well represented on Australian maps. Macquarie's term encompassed the key events of Australia's crucial third decade of existence, and his governorship accelerated its progress from a jail to a colony of settlement, and from despotism to democracy. Unsurprisingly, the personal story of Macquarie's years is just as absorbing: a tale of aspirations fulfilled followed by a devastating fall from grace. This book is a timely reminder of Lachlan Macquarie's importance to modern Australians. It is a fascinating story of the genesis of a nation and of an extraordinary individual who refused to be confounded by the odds stacked against him.

Harry Dillon is a lecturer in Journalism with the School of Communication at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst. He has been a full-time academic for the past decade after a 25-year career as a journalist, broadcast producer and editor. He was a journalist on major Sydney metropolitan newspapers and worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for 10 years. He has an Honours degree in history and is currently working towards a Doctorate. He has long been fascinated by historical matters, especially of Australia's colonial period and has been involved in a number of public history projects. Peter Butler has had a passion for history since school days in Sydney. He is a professional researcher and has utilised his skills for radio, record companies and TV production houses. He has worked in research projects in most of the Pacific Rim countries, South Africa and the Middle East. antiquities. A former course coordinator and lecturer at CSU, Peter met co-author Harry Dillon while teaching at Bathurst in 2000.