---
node: au_rum_rebellion
type: event
slug: rum_rebellion
title: "Rum Rebellion"
lead: "The 1808 seizure of government by the New South Wales Corps and settlers who deposed Governor William Bligh — the only armed takeover of government in Australian history."
published: 2026-07-15
updated: 2026-07-15
image_file: rum_rebellion.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arrest_of_Govenor_Bligh.jpg"
image_author: "Unknown authorUnknown author"
image_license: "Public domain"
---

## What happened

Governor William Bligh clashed fiercely with the officers of the New South Wales Corps and leading settlers as he tried to curb their control of trade, especially the traffic in rum.

## Background

On 26 January 1808, the Corps, allied with John Macarthur, marched on Government House, arrested Bligh, and seized power. The colony was then under the Corps' control for a time.

## Consequences

In response, Britain sent Lachlan Macquarie as the new governor and recalled the Corps to restore order. The affair symbolises the power struggles of the early colony.