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WATTS, John Cliffe
(1786-1873) - Captain
Military officer, aide-de-camp, architect, and close personal
friend of the Macquaries.
Born on 7 May 1786 in Sallins, County Kildare, Ireland. Son of Charles
and Margaret (nee Boyse) Watts. He completed his schooling c.1802
and joined the army on 24 July 1804 as an ensign in the 64th Regiment.
Prior to his enlistment he worked briefly in a bank in Dublin and in an
architectural firm for approximately 18 months. He was one of seven
brothers, all of whom joined the army as commissioned officers; and at
least five of them attained the rank of captain.
Soon after his enlistment he sailed to join his regiment in the West
Indies and in 1805 was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, as well as
transferring to the 46th Regiment. In 1810 (Jan.-Feb.) he was involved
in the capture of Guadeloupe from the French, returning to England in
1811, followed by garrison duty on the island of Jersey until June 1812.
On 16 June the 46th Regiment returned to the Isle of Wight where they
remained until August 1813 when they received orders to proceed to New
South Wales to relieve the 73rd Regiment. The first two detachments
embarked on board the Windham and General Hewitt on 23
August 1813, followed by a third detachment (3 months later) on the
Three Bees. Lieut. Watts travelled on the Windham
arriving in Sydney on 11 February 1814 with his commanding officer
Lieut.-Colonel George Molle.
He was appointed Macquarie's aide-de-camp on 3 June 1814, replacing
Lieut. John Maclaine (Macquarie's cousin and nephew). From the outset Macquarie
drew upon Watts' architectural experience and interest, and gave him the
task of furnishing plans for a new military hospital to be erected on
Flagstaff Hill (Observatory Hill) in Sydney. [This building is now the
headquarters for the National Trust of Australia (NSW)]. The success
of his work led to more commissions, most of which were carried out in
the Parramatta area: they included the repair and improvement of
Government House (1815 -1816), the design and building of a new hospital
(1817 -1818), a new military barracks (1818 -1820), the addition of the
two steeples to St. John's Church (1818 -1819), repairs to the road to
Parramatta (and the associated bridges), as well as the construction of
a dam across the Parramatta River (1818) to provide a fresh water supply
to local inhabitants (and to prevent the influx of salt water carried by
the tidal flow of the river in its upper reaches).
Watts' architectural work was based on plain,
straightforward adaptations of Georgian models, and there is indirect
evidence that he had brought a number of architectural textbooks with
him to New South Wales (or had them sent out to the colony) including:
Isaac Ware The Complete Body of Architecture. 1756 (2nd ed.);
Abraham Swan Collection of Design in Architecture (1757); Colin
Campbell Vitruvius Britannicus; (and possibly J. Gibbs, A Book
of Architecture, and a French edition of Andrea Palladio I
Quattro Libri dell'Architettura).
Of greater importance, in
many ways, was the personal support that Watts provided to the
Macquaries- and the evident high regard that they held for him.
Watts supported Macquarie wholeheartedly in his attempts to change the
prejudices held by many civil and military officers, and free settlers,
against associating socially with emancipists. However Macquarie felt
deeply slighted and insulted by the behaviour of the commanding officer,
Colonel Molle, and many of the officers of the 46th Regiment who refused
to attend civil functions at Government House whenever emancipists were
in attendance. Macquarie wrote to Lord Bathurst and the Duke of York
giving an account of these acts of insubordination, while at the same
time adding a list of loyal and well- behaved officers, including his
own aide-de-camp, John Watts.
Watts lived with the Macquaries for five years and came to be regarded
as one of their family. He accompanied them on all official engagements,
and is listed among those in attendance on the Macquaries for the tours
to Bathurst (1815) and the Cowpastures (1815) He clearly developed a
close attachment to young Lachlan Macquarie and appears to have worked
closely not only with Elizabeth Macquarie in the development of
architectural plans and modifications to Government House and St John's
Church at Parramatta. The esteem with which the Macquaries held Watts is
also reflected in a set of miniatures that they presented to him (of
themselves and Lachlan) prior to his departure from New South Wales.
With the arrival of Lieut. Hector Macquarie (Macquarie's nephew)
in April 1818 Watts offered to step aside to allow him to become the new
aide de camp. This offer was rejected, though Lachlan Macquarie
encouraged Watts to seek promotion and if this had not occurred within
the next six months he should resign and return to England to press his
case. After 8 months, when there was no news of promotion, he tendered
his resignation (on 24 December 1818); and Macquarie granted him leave
of absence for two years from his corps and duty, dating from the time
of his departure for England, so that he could settle his private
affairs.
He sailed for England on board the transport Shipley
on 1 April 1819. Macquarie gave him official despatches to take back
with him, as well as a number of personal presents, including birds,
plants and artefacts, to be presented to members of the Royal Family and
the Secretary of State.
Not long after his arrival in England Watts
received a captaincy in the 73rd Regiment on 24 February 1820. The
regiment did not return from its tour of duty in Ceylon until 1821 and
as a consequence he was relatively free to pursue his social engagements
and family obligations until that time - though no details of his
movements and activities have survived. It is clear, however, that he
was in England when the Macquaries returned to London in July 1822. He
most probably visited them there and then was invited to join them in
the near future in Scotland.
Watts was able to arrange for seven weeks leave from his regiment and
met the Macquaries in Glasgow on 2 September 1822. He accompanied them
on visits to the homes of Elizabeth's widowed sister, Margaret Campbell,
at Campbeltown, and her brother John, at Airds, near Oban, as well as
an extended visit to the Isle of Mull between 12 September and 10
October when the Macquaries were meeting with kinsmen and investigating
the state of their 'Jarvisfield' estate. There were additional visits in
the environs of Oban, on the mainland, afterwards. It was during this
time that Watts formed a close acquaintance with Elizabeth Macquarie's
niece, Jane Campbell (1792-1873), daughter of Margaret Campbell, and soon
afterwards he made a proposal of marriage; and they were married on 16
January 1823. The Macquaries did not attend the ceremony as they were
absent from Britain on their 8 month tour of Europe.
John Watts only remained in the army for a brief period after his
marriage - resigning his commission in the 73rd Regiment in 1824. For
the next thirteen years he lived at Campbeltown, raising a family of
seven children, with occasional visits to his parents in Dublin.
In late 1834 he wrote to Elizabeth Macquarie asking her to write a
letter on his behalf to the Home Secretary, Henry Goulburn, in support
of a request for an official appointment in Van Diemen's Land. Though
the letter was unsuccessful it provides a useful insight into the
character of Watts, and the degree of friendship that existed between
them. Her letter is dated 9 January 1835 - just two months before her
death on 11 March 1835.
Watts and his family continued to live in Scotland until 1837 and then
moved to Ireland for almost three years; however, in 1840, he decided to
emigrate to South Australia. The family sailed from Greenock on 17
September 1840 on board the John Cooper, and they reached Port
Adelaide on 8 March 1841, where Watts took up an appointment as
Postmaster General on 1 April 1841. He retained this position until his
retirement on 29 June 1861.
John Watts died on 28 March 1873 at Nurney House, North Adelaide, aged 87 year. His wife Jane nee Campbell had predeceased him by three weeks. She passed away on 9 March 1873, aged 81 years.
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References:
Primary Sources
Public Record Office: Colonial Office. PRO: CO 323/140. Elizabeth
Macquarie to Henry Goulburn, (Letter dated 9 January 1835).
Report of the Commissioner of Inquiry into the State of the Colony of
New South Wales. (House of Commons Paper 448, 19 June1822 ).
Adelaide, Libraries of South Australia, 1966. [Australiana Facsimile
Editions No.68] p.28.
Report of the Commissioner of Inquiry, on
the State of Agriculture and Trade in the Colony of New South Wales.
(House of Commons Paper 136, 13 March 1823 ). Adelaide, Libraries of
South Australia, 1966. [Australiana Facsimile Editions No. 70] p.107.
Secondary Sources
Broadbent, James. The Australian Colonial House: architecture and society in New South Wales 1788-1842. Sydney, Hordern House, 1997.
Macfarlane, Margaret and Alastair. John
Watts: Australia's Forgotten Architect 1814-1819 and South Australia's
Postmaster General 1841 - 1861. Bonnells Bay, NSW. Sunbird
Publications, 1992.
Philipp, F. A. "Notes on the Study of Australian Colonial Architecture. " Historical Studies Australia and New Zealand. Vol. 8 November 1957 - May 1959, Footnote 21, pp.412.
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