Lachlan Macquarie - Governor Of New South Wales
Journals Of His Tours In New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land 1810-1822.
Published by The Trustees Of The Public Library Of NSW: Sydney 1956
Includes 3 Large Foldout Maps - All Present As Called For.
"Lachlan Macquarie - Governor of New South Wales presents the full and unabridged journals kept by Governor Lachlan Macquarie during his extensive tours of inspection across New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land between 1810 and 1822. Written at the height of his administration, these first-hand accounts record Macquarie's observations as he travelled through the interior, coastal settlements, and frontier districts, documenting geography, infrastructure, agriculture, settlement planning, and colonial administration in precise and often candid detail. Printed directly from the original manuscripts held in the Mitchell Library, the journals offer an authoritative primary source for understanding the formative years of Australia's colonial development.
The narrative reveals Macquarie as both administrator and visionary, detailing his role in founding towns, surveying land, commissioning roads, bridges, and public buildings, and imposing order and structure on what remained a fragile and expanding penal colony. His journals illuminate daily colonial life, relations with settlers and officials, and his attitudes toward convicts, emancipists, and governance, while also recording the physical realities of travel in early nineteenth-century Australia. Particularly significant are his tours of the Cow Pastures, the Hawkesbury, Bathurst, Newcastle, and multiple voyages to Van Diemen's Land, which together chart the consolidation of British authority across the continent.
This handsome 1956 publication by the Trustees of the Public Library of New South Wales is further enhanced by eleven colour plates, a facsimile journal page, and three large folding maps illustrating the areas covered during Macquarie's inspections, all present as issued. Scholarly yet accessible, it remains one of the most revealing documentary records of early Australian governance, indispensable to an understanding of Macquarie's enduring legacy as a nation-builder. This work will particularly appeal to collectors of Australian colonial history, Tasmanian and New South Wales researchers, and readers interested in primary source accounts of early settlement and administration.
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General wear and some chipping to dustjacket protected by a clear plastic sleeve. No inscriptions. All maps present. A nice clean copy in very good condition overall. Please study photos to further understand condition.
