Macquarie

Grantlee Kieza’s Macquarie is a lively, clear-eyed biography of Lachlan Macquarie, the colonial governor often credited with reshaping New South Wales from a harsh penal outpost into a more stable and productive society. Drawing closely on Macquarie’s detailed journals, Kieza traces his rise from a poor Scottish farm boy to a British army officer who served across multiple continents, before taking on the task of governing New Holland. The book also confronts the darker legacy of Macquarie’s rule. Alongside his belief in opportunity for former convicts and his push for a more ambitious future for the colony, Kieza examines the violent conflict with Aboriginal people and the military actions that caused the deaths of Indigenous men, women and children. The result is a nuanced portrait of a figure central to Australia’s colonial story, and its enduring consequences.

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Author: Grantlee Kieza

Format: Paperback