The Final Year of Macquarie's Governorship

In 1821 Macquarie began preparing for his return to Britain. He knew that his governorship was drawing to a close. He had received notification from Lord Bathurst on 31 January 1820 that his resignation had finally been accepted, but had to wait until 11 June to discover that his replacement would be Sir Thomas Brisbane.

In the meantime, Macquarie had dispatched Captain Francis Allman with forty (40) soldiers and sixty (60) labourers to Port Macquarie to establish a new penal settlement. It was designed to serve as a place of secondary punishment for convicts of the worst kind.

Commissioner J. T. Bigge, on board the H.M. Storeship Dromedary, sailed from Sydney Cove on 9 February. The departure of the Dromedary was delayed by adverse winds until 14 February, and almost ended in disaster when the ship was driven against the Sow and Pigs Reef (near the entrance to Sydney Harbour) but it was refloated, without damage, and sailed without any further delay. Bigge left little doubt that his views on the administration of the Colony would result in a Report to the British Government that would be unfavourably disposed towards Macquarie and his policies and views on convicts, emancipists and free settlers.
[See: description of the departure of Commissioner Bigge. ]

Six weeks later Macquarie and his family departed on a final Tour of Inspection to Van Diemen's Land.

Journal of a Voyage and Tour of Inspection to Van Diemen's Land 1821.

4 April 1821 - 12 July 1821

An account of the voyage on board the Midas.
Included a visit to Hobart; an overland journey to Port Dalrymple, Launceston and George Town; and the inspection of various sites for new townships. The return voyage to Sydney was on board the Caroline

Accompanying Lachlan Macquarie were his wife Elizabeth, their son Lachlan, Theodore Bartley, (tutor to Lachlan Jnr.), Lieut. Hector Macquarie, Major James Taylor, Dr William Redfern, Surveyor George Evans, Sergeant Charles Whalan (and his son Charles) and servants, including Macquarie's manservant George Jarvis (and possibly his wife Mary).

In November Macquarie busied himself with additional Tours of Inspection to Port Macquarie and Newcastle.

Journal of A Voyage and tour of Inspection - from Port Jackson to the Settlements of Port Macquarie and Newcastle in November 1821.

1 November - 21 November

Records Macquarie's voyage to the Northern Settlements on board the Elizabeth Henrietta (accompanied by the Snapper cutter); his selection of the site for the town of Port Macquarie; the exploration of the Hastings River, and the journey by river and land to Wallis Plains, near Newcastle. Those who accompanied Lachlan Macquarie were Lieut. Hector Macquarie, Deputy Surveyor-General James Meehan, Master Attendant John Nicholson, and Lieut. Robert Johnston R.N.

Macquarie's final day in office was 30 November. Sir Thomas Brisbane was officially installed as Governor on Saturday 1 December in a large public ceremony in Hyde Park. At this time time Macquarie gave a short farewell speech in which he reminded his audience of the state in which he had found of the Colony in 1810, listed the main achievements of his administration, indicated that his commitment to duty had impaired his present state of health, acknowledged that his exertions had at times made him enemies, but believed that the Colony would flourish not only under his immediate successor but would, he believed "in less than half a century hence, ... be one of the most valuable appendages to the British Empire".
[See: complete transcript of Farewell Speech ]

Another seventy-three days would pass before Macquarie's departure from New South Wales. In that time he toured the Colony, visiting places of particular significance and importance to him.

In December 1821 he travelled to Bathurst:

[See also: Journeys in Time 1809-1822 for additional details].

Newspaper Accounts

Sydney Gazette: 10 November 1821.
Sir Thomas Brisbane and Family.
Description of the arrival of the new governor of NSW who had been nominated to replace Lachlan Macquarie.

Sydney Gazette: 29 December 1821.
Aboriginal Feast Day at Parramatta.
Description of the final meeting attended by Macquarie at Parramatta. He inaugurated the first gathering on 28 December 1814.