Lachlan Macquarie's Chair: History

History of the Chairs

The evidence suggests that the two 'Macquarie' chairs were constructed during the six months between John Webster's arrival on 7 August 1820, and their listing in the Government House inventory of 21 March 1821.

At a later date, Temple and Webster were commissioned by Thomas Hobbes Scott, secretary to Commissioner J. T. Bigge [and subsequently appointed Archdeacon of New South Wales (1824-1829)] to make him a chair of similar proportions - though with some slight alterations. This chair is now located in St. James Church, Sydney).

When Governor Macquarie left New South Wales in February 1822, he took the two chairs back with him to his estate on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. The chairs passed from Isabella née Campbell, the widow of Governor Macquarie's son, Lachlan (who died in 1845), through Lt. Col. Charles Greenhill Gardyne, to Governor Macquarie's nephew George Willison Macquarie (1816-1894), who in turn bequeathed them to his two sons, Rowland (1873-1945) and Archibald James (1875-1945).

Both brothers emigrated to Canada in the 1890s, taking the chairs with them. Rowland worked as a marine engineer (with 1st Class papers). Eventually the chair in his possession was passed (via his widow, Elizabeth Stewart) to the Vancouver City Museum in the 1930s. It remained there until 1961, when it was acquired by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney (now the Powerhouse Museum). This chair has subsequently been on display at Old Government House, Parramatta; the Mint Museum, Sydney; and the Museum of Sydney (MOS). It is currently on permanent exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum.

The second chair remained as part of the possessions of the family of Archibald James Macquarie in New Brunswick (eastern Canada). He worked as a banker, firstly with the Bank of Scotland, and subsequently with the Bank of British North America (1897-1903), and the Bank of New Brunswick (1904-). Later he became the manager of different branches of the Bank of Nova Scotia, in the Maritime Provinces, and continued living in eastern Canada after his retirement until his death on 29 December 1945. Twenty years later, following the death of Archibald's widow, Constance Sturdee, in 1965, the chair was bequeathed to one of her three daughters, Phyllis (Mrs J.E. Taylor), who arranged for it to be shipped back to Edinburgh, Scotland that year.

At this stage, Malcolm Ellis, a noted Australian journalist/historian, and the first major biographer of Lachlan Macquarie, notified the executive staff of the newly-founded Macquarie University of the chair's existence. It was suggested that the acquisition of this chair would provide a unique link between the University and its namesake. Negotiations began, and the chair was subsequently presented as a gift by Mrs J. E. Taylor to the University. The chair was shipped to Australia on the S.S. Helenus in September 1967, and arrived at the University in December 1967.

Continue with the History of the University Chair...

Sources
Archival & Mss Sources
Macquarie University Archives: RS330 (Box 451 S11/B2)
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Museum Archives

Primary Sources
James Atkinson. An Account of the State of Agriculture and Grazing in New South Wales. Sydney: Sydney University Press, 1975 [facsimile edition]. First published London, J. Cross, 1826.
The Evidence of the Bigge Reports; New South Wales under Governor Macquarie. Selected and edited by John Ritchie. Melbourne: Heinemann, 1971 2 vols.

Secondary Sources
Australian Furniture: Pictorial History and Dictionary 1788-1938. Compiled by Kevin Fahy and Andrew Simpson. Sydney: Casuarina Press, 1999.
Bickersteth, Julian. "The Three Macquarie Chairs." Australiana Vol.14 Pt. 1 February 1992 pp.11-14.
Clifford, Craig, Fahy, Kevin, and Robertson, E. Graeme. Early Colonial Furniture in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. Melbourne: Georgian House, 1972.
Crosbie, R.A. "Clandestine Furniture in the Macquarie Era." Australiana Vol.15 No.1 February 1993 pp.14-20.
Fahy, Kevin, Simpson, Christine, and Simpson, Andrew. Nineteenth Century Australian Furniture. Darlinghurst: David Ell Press, 1985.
Hook, Elizabeth. Journey to a New Life: the story of the ships 'Emu' in 1812 and 'Broxbornebury' in 1814, including Crew, Female Convicts and Free Passengers on board. Minto, NSW: Privately Printed, 2000. (See entry: 'Jane Jones (c.1795-1868)' pp. 80-81 for details regarding John Nehemiah Webster.)
Watson, Ann. "Governor Macquarie's Armchair." in Decorative Arts and Design From The Powerhouse Museum (ed.) Elizabeth Bilney. Sydney: Powerhouse Publishing, 1991 p.54.
Watson, Ann. "The Macquarie Chair - a Well-Travelled Piece of History", Craft Australia Spring 1984, Issue 3, pp. 69 - 71.

Macquarie Chair: Site Map