Political History of Australia

In September 1801, Captain John Macarthur of the NSW Corps was challenged to a duel by his commanding officer. Macarthur declined the challenge but his opponent was insistent and so the duel proceeded. Macarthur shot and badly wounded his commanding officer. Governor King soon arrived on the scene and Macarthur was arrested. Governor King had already been in a vicious spat with Macarthur and so King relished this opportunity to banish Macarthur by sending him to England for court martial.

Macarthur may have been facing a gaol term … but on his way to England, John Macarthur had a succession of lucky breaks. In England, Macarthur didn’t need to rely on luck - his brilliance convinced important statesmen that rather than goal, this Macarthur fellow should be given the largest land grant to date in NSW.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustralia

The Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council.

johnruddick.com.au
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlc
https://x.com/JohnRuddick2
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/
https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc
https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/

Produced by Sean Masters
(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the late 1790s, John Macarthur took a step back from politics as he was pre-occupied with establishing the Australian wool industry. In mid-1800, the new governor Philip Gidley King was sworn in and it was clear he was a man on a mission to restore the prestige of the state … so Macarthur offered to sell everything and return to England. That sale didn’t eventuate but before long Macarthur would be challenged to, not one duel, but two. He had the brains to get out of the first one but suffered the ignominy of being a coward … so soon after when he was challenged again to a duel, he had little choice but to proceed. In most duels neither man was injured but high noon at Parramatta and John Macarthur did not miss.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustralia

The Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council.

johnruddick.com.au
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlc
https://x.com/JohnRuddick2
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/
https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc
https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/

Produced by Sean Masters
(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first year of the 19th century Captain Philip Gidley King was sworn in as the third Governor of New South Wales. The second governor (John Hunter) had come to the job expecting to be a ‘gentlemen governor’ and New South Wales a comfy reward for his decades of distinguished service to the British Empire. But Hunter was driven half-mad by the colony and ended up sacked by London.

Governor King was younger and more energetic – he arrived in Sydney as a man on a mission. He was determined to restore the power and prestige of the state - he was looking for a fight (which he would get). Governor King’s ‘reforms’ were tyrannical and counter-productive … so much so, the colony began to fear famine again. It wouldn’t be too long until the great crusader was writing to London and hoping he could get away sooner than planned.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustralia

The Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council.

johnruddick.com.au
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlc
https://x.com/JohnRuddick2
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/
https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc
https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/

Produced by Sean Masters
(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Governor John Hunter served as the second governor of New South Wales during the second half of the 1790s. As Hunter’s governorship progressed, his misery and paranoia grew as he was increasingly ignored by London and his colonial peers. Hunter was given a warning in 1798, when London advised him a replacement governor had been selected for whenever Hunter may leave the role … but Hunter continued to frustrate London and 18 months later was officially recalled to England. Governor Hunter suffered the first Dismissal in Australian political history.

Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustralia

The Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council.

johnruddick.com.au
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlc
https://x.com/JohnRuddick2
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/
https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc
https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/

Produced by Sean Masters
(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the John Baughan Affair political tension returned to the small but now flourishing colony of New South Wales. It was 1796. In this increasingly tense atmosphere some regular troops at 3am stole a couple of turnips from the Governor’s garden. It was hardly a hanging offence but escalation begat escalation and soon it was a proxy war between Governor John Hunter and Captain John Macarthur as to who was the real boss.

In an extraordinary twist, the dispute ended up on the desk of the Home Secretary in London … and to Governor Hunter’s dismay, London politely sided with Macarthur.

Historians have been baffled ever since as to why a top cabinet member in London would side with a lowly captain over the King’s Governor. There was nothing sinister or manipulative about it – John Macarthur and the government of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger were ideological allies. London simply agreed with Macarthur’s brilliantly presented case as to what the colony’s problems were and how they could be corrected. The downfall of Governor Hunter had begun.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustralia

The Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council.

johnruddick.com.au
https://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlc
https://x.com/JohnRuddick2
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/
https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc
https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/

Produced by Sean Masters
(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.