---
node: au_lachlan_macquarie
type: person
slug: lachlan_macquarie
title: "Lachlan Macquarie"
lead: "The Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821 who rebuilt the penal colony into an ordered society."
published: 2026-07-15
updated: 2026-07-15
image_file: lachlan_macquarie.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Lachlan_Macquarie_1874.jpeg"
image_author: "Arthur Levett Jackson (1834-1888)"
image_license: "Public domain"
---

## Who they were

A Scottish soldier, Macquarie arrived as governor in 1810 to restore a colony thrown into disorder by the Rum Rebellion.

## What they did

He built roads, bridges, and public buildings on a large scale and put the currency and institutions in order. His policy of accepting emancipists — former convicts who had served their terms — back into society drew both praise and opposition.

## Legacy

For his public works and his policy of reintegration, he is often called the Father of modern Australia. Yet military action against Indigenous people also took place under his rule.