Page:A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry Vol 1.djvu/251

 BURKE'S COLONIAL GENTRY. 225 ture ; in comiiion ■with tlie other officers of llie regiment, lie was offered 100 acres of land near Parraniatta, -with a promise that -wlioeTer first brought his land into cultivation should have an additional quantity. Captain Mac- arthur was the one to claim this privi- lege, and he it was who, in 1795, first broke Australian soil with a plough, all previous cultivation having been carried on in true primitive style, with the hoe. On the land thus acquii-ed he established a homestead, to which he gave the name of " Elizabeth Farm." In 1794, he purchased from a brother officer sixty Bengal sheep, which had been imported into the colony, and from that time devoted himself to the production of fine wool in Australia. In 1796 he obtained from the Cape some pure Spanish merino sheep, in all five ewes and three rams, and with this new and valuable blood he commenced to crop his hairy sheep ; and whilst others were devot- ing themselves to the jiroduction of carcasses, he steadily jaersevered in his original object — the production of fine wool. In 1801 he took the first sam- ples of merino wool to England, and having submitted them to the inspec- tion of a committee of manufacturers, they reported that the merino wool was equal to any Spanish wool, and the crossbred of considerable value. Supported by the manufacturers, who, in the unsettled state of Euroj^ean affairs, were fully alive to the advan- tage of obtaining a national source of supply for their raw material, and en- couraged by Lord Camden, the Secre- tary of State, Captain Macarthur decided on retiring from the army and devoting himself to the production of fine wool, on condition that he should receive a grant of not less than 5,000 acres of land in any locality he might point out. He obtained some sheep from the royal flock of Spanish merinos at Kew, and retvirning to the colony in 1805, in the sliip "Argo," which he had purchased, he succeeded in landing five rams and one ewe. The land which was granted to him by Lord Camden, then known as " The Cowpastures," became the foundation of the Camden Park Estate, where the descendants of her grandfather's flock are preserved with great care by the present owner. After taking a lead- ing part in the deposition of Governor Bligh (a most accurate account of which is to be found in Eusden's History of Australia, vol. i), Captain Macarthur was, with several officers of the New South Wales corps, sent to England under arrest, and after an absence of seven years, being honour- ably acquitted, he returned to Aus- tralia in 1817, provided by the Government with suflncient accommo- dation for himself and his sons, James and William. John Macarthur was called the " Father of the Colony." In 1825 he was appointed member of the first Legislative Council of New South Wales. The expectations that he had formed of the wool trade of the colony were crowned with com- plete success, and the wines from the vineyard which he formed at Camden have taken the first rank at international exhibitions. He m., 1788, Elizabeth, daughter of R. Veal, Esq. of Judgeworthy, Bridge Eide, Devon- shire, England, and d. at Camden Park, 10th April, 1834, having had issue by her (who d. in February, 1850), 1. Edward (Sir), K.C.B., lieutenant- general in the anny, b. at Bath, England, 1789 ; entered the army 1808, and the following year was promoted to the rank of lieu- tenant, in 1820 to that of captain, and in 1826 to that of major. He served throughout the Peninsular War ; was present at the battles of Corunna, Yittoria, the Py- renees, Nive, Nivelle, Orthes, and Toulouse, and was with the 39th Eegiment in Sicily, Canada, Spain, and France. After his return to England he was, for several years, secretary to the lord chamberlain ; was appointed to the charge of a district in Ireland during the troubles of 1837 ; made lieutenant-colonel 1841 ; subsequently went to New South Wales as deiiuty adjutant- general ; made colonel 1854 ; in 1855, appointed commander-in- chief of H.M. forces in Australia ; promoted to the rank of lieuten- ant-general, 1856 ; and from 1st. January to 31st December, 1856, was lieutenant-governor of Vic- toria. He was created a K.C.B. in 1862, and the same year was appointed colonel of the 100th Foot. He m. in 1862, Sarah, third daughter of Lieutenant- colonel Neill, and sister of the gallant Brigadier-general Neill, who fell at Lucknow ; and d. x.p. in London 4th January, 1872, aged 82 years. 2. J ohn, of London, barrister-at-la<v, b. 1794; educated at King's College, Cambridge, was nomi- nated to be chief justice of New- South Wales, when death over- took him, 1831. He was iinm. 3. James, of Camden Park, New South Wales, b. at Parramatta, 1798 ; educated by a French refu- gee (Huon de Kerillan) until 1809, when he and his brother William accompanied their father to Eng- Q