Political History of Australia

In 1802 the political focus of New South Wales was not domestic but geopolitical. The British and the French had been at war for nine years already and had well over a decade ahead of conflict ahead … but in 1802 Britian and France were officially at peace. It was during this interval that two French ships sailed into Sydney Harbour and stayed five months. It was the Baudin Expedition personally commissioned by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte. The colonials rolled out the red carpet of welcome but among the French was a humble assistant zoologist who undercover was vacuuming up all the intel he could. On his return to Paris this zoologist wrote up a detailed plain on how and why France should invade and conqueror New South Wales. That didn’t happen but the British were alarmed – they didn’t want a second Canada where a French minority was an endless irritant. Great Britain had claimed two-thirds of a continent in 1788 but hadn’t done a thing about it. The arrival of the French in 1802 kick-started the process of continental expansion.Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

In September 1801, Captain John Macarthur of the NSW Corps was challenged to a duel by his commanding officer. Macarthur declined the challenge but his opponent was insistent and so the duel proceeded. Macarthur shot and badly wounded his commanding officer. Governor King soon arrived on the scene and Macarthur was arrested. Governor King had already been in a vicious spat with Macarthur and so King relished this opportunity to banish Macarthur by sending him to England for court martial. Macarthur may have been facing a gaol term … but on his way to England, John Macarthur had a succession of lucky breaks. In England, Macarthur didn’t need to rely on luck - his brilliance convinced important statesmen that rather than goal, this Macarthur fellow should be given the largest land grant to date in NSW.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

In the late 1790s, John Macarthur took a step back from politics as he was pre-occupied with establishing the Australian wool industry. In mid-1800, the new governor Philip Gidley King was sworn in and it was clear he was a man on a mission to restore the prestige of the state … so Macarthur offered to sell everything and return to England. That sale didn’t eventuate but before long Macarthur would be challenged to, not one duel, but two. He had the brains to get out of the first one but suffered the ignominy of being a coward … so soon after when he was challenged again to a duel, he had little choice but to proceed. In most duels neither man was injured but high noon at Parramatta and John Macarthur did not miss.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

In the first year of the 19th century Captain Philip Gidley King was sworn in as the third Governor of New South Wales. The second governor (John Hunter) had come to the job expecting to be a ‘gentlemen governor’ and New South Wales a comfy reward for his decades of distinguished service to the British Empire. But Hunter was driven half-mad by the colony and ended up sacked by London. Governor King was younger and more energetic – he arrived in Sydney as a man on a mission. He was determined to restore the power and prestige of the state - he was looking for a fight (which he would get). Governor King’s ‘reforms’ were tyrannical and counter-productive … so much so, the colony began to fear famine again. It wouldn’t be too long until the great crusader was writing to London and hoping he could get away sooner than planned.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

Governor John Hunter served as the second governor of New South Wales during the second half of the 1790s. As Hunter’s governorship progressed, his misery and paranoia grew as he was increasingly ignored by London and his colonial peers.  Hunter was given a warning in 1798, when London advised him a replacement governor had been selected for whenever Hunter may leave the role … but Hunter continued to frustrate London and 18 months later was officially recalled to England. Governor Hunter suffered the first Dismissal in Australian political history.Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

After the John Baughan Affair political tension returned to the small but now flourishing colony of New South Wales. It was 1796. In this increasingly tense atmosphere some regular troops at 3am stole a couple of turnips from the Governor’s garden. It was hardly a hanging offence but escalation begat escalation and soon it was a proxy war between Governor John Hunter and Captain John Macarthur as to who was the real boss. In an extraordinary twist, the dispute ended up on the desk of the Home Secretary in London … and to Governor Hunter’s dismay, London politely sided with Macarthur. Historians have been baffled ever since as to why a top cabinet member in London would side with a lowly captain over the King’s Governor. There was nothing sinister or manipulative about it – John Macarthur and the government of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger were ideological allies. London simply agreed with Macarthur’s brilliantly presented case as to what the colony’s problems were and how they could be corrected. The downfall of Governor Hunter had begun.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

Governor John Hunter arrived in Sydney in 1795 with instructions directly from King George III to clean up the perceived mess in New South Wales. Hunter had first come to Sydney with the First Fleet in 1788 but he hadn’t been in Sydney for four years and so was surprised and delighted to find that, rather than being a mess, New South Wales was thriving. Hunter wrote back to London in praise of the colony and the leadership of Francis Grose.At first John Macarthur and Governor Hunter were friendly. It appeared Hunter would go along with the easy-going policies of Francis Grose … but then some soldiers smashed up the home of John Baughan in The Rocks. Governor Hunter was utterly appalled by the behaviour of British troops and so he put his foot down and demanded the NSW Corps get into line. Macarthur appeared to be withdrawing from public life … but it was merely a strategic retreat.Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)

Governor Arthur Phillip departed NSW after almost five years in late 1792. For the next three years NSW had no official governor and so the military boss Major Francis Grose stepped up to the role as Acting Governor during this Military Interregnum. Phillip had been a micro-manager but Grose dismantled the old order in favour of a laissez-faire approach. Fear of hunger was soon replaced by ‘fear of missing out’ as a prosperous middle class quickly emerged. This period is dismissed by most historians as one of greed and corruption but they overlook the reality on the ground – bumper harvests, a reduction in crime, a surge in general health and a building boom. Francis Grose’ reforms put to rest any suggestion NSW was not going to be a successful colony.Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.)