Governor Lachlan MacquariePrint Page 
The statue commemorates Lachlan Macquarie, a former Governor of New South Wales. The statue was commissioned during the bicentenary celebrations in 1994 of European settlement in the Hawkesbury. It was sponsored by Hawkesbury Gazette, Hawkesbury Courier and their parent company Rural Press Ltd.
As part of the Macquarie 2010 celebrations, Council commissioned Franco and Dennis Colussi to create a Mosaic Art Sculpture around the Governor Macquarie Statue in McQuade Park.
The central mosaic depicts landmarks in each of the five Macquarie towns to acknowledge the 200 years since their naming in December 1810: St Matthews Anglican Church, Windsor; Mountain View, Richmond; Macquarie School House, Wilberforce; Mulgrave Place and Bathurst Street, Pitt Town; and Christchurch Anglican Church, Castlereagh.
A separate mosaic located at the entrance to the statue features an artistic impression of the Elizabeth Macquarie Iris.
The combination of the mosaic with the statue is a fitting acknowledgement of the partnership between Elizabeth and Lachlan Macquarie, who together strived to work for the betterment of the state and the Hawkesbury.
Lachlan Macquarie CB (31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony.
He is considered by some historians to have had a crucial influence on the transition of New South Wales from a penal colony to a free settlement and therefore to have played a major role in the shaping of Australian society in the early nineteenth century. An inscription on his tomb in Scotland describes him as "The Father of Australia".
There is controversy around Macquarie`s treatment of Indigenous people. In April 1816, Macquarie ordered soldiers under his command to kill or capture any Aboriginal people they encountered during a military operation aimed at creating a sense of "terror". At least 14 men, women and children were brutally killed, some shot, others driven over a cliff.
Although Macquarie's orders included an instruction to punish the guilty with as little injury to the innocent as possible, archival evidence shows he knew innocent people could be killed. In addition, Macquarie explicitly instructed his soldiers to offer those Aboriginal groups encountered an opportunity to surrender, and to open fire only after meeting "resistance".
These instructions appear to have been ignored. Historical records suggest the soldiers offered no opportunity to surrender, opening fire on a group of people ambushed at night and who were fleeing in terror.
A discussion regarding this can be read in the attached PDF file.
ABC News ArticleLocation
| Address: | Moses Street, McQuade Park, Windsor, 2756 |
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| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.609523 Long: 150.812657 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Sculpture |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Government - Colonial |
| Designer: | Franco and Dennis Colussi (mosaic art sculpture) |
| Artist: | Frederic Marie René Chepeaux (statue) |
| Link: | http://adb.anu.edu.au |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 1st October, 1994 |
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1794 - 1994
HAWKESBURY 200
MAJOR GENERAL LACHLAN MACQUARIE
GOVERNOR OF NEW SOUTH WALES
1810 - 1821
PLANNER AND FOUNDER IN 1810 OF THE MACQUARIE TOWNS OF WINDSOR, RICHMOND, WILBERFORCE, PITT TOWN AND CASTLEREAGH.
THE HONEST, SOBER AND INDUSTRIOUS INHABITANT, WHETHER FREE SETTLER OR CONVICT WILL EVER FIND IN ME A FRIEND AND
PROTECTOR.
THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED BY THE CITIZENS OF HAWKESBURY CITY
SPONSORED BY THE HAWKESBURY GAZETTE AND THE HAWKESBURY COURIER AND THEIR PARENT COMPANY RURAL PRESS LIMITED IN APPRECIATION OF THE SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE OF THE HAWKESBURY.
UNVEILED BY HIS EXCELLENCY REAR ADMIRAL PETER SINCLAIR AC. GOVERNOR OF NEW SOUTH WALES
1 OCTOBER 1994
