Edward Macarthur KCB (1789 - 1872)

Born 16 Mar 1789 in Bath, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Neill) Macarthur — married 1862 in England

Died 4 Jan 1872 at age 82 in London, Middlesex, England

Biography

Edward Macarthur KCB is Notable.

Lieutenant General Sir Edward Macarthur KCB was born on 16th March 1789 at Bath, Somerset, England. He was the firstborn child and son of John Macarthur and Elizabeth Veale. At the end of his first year he ventured to the infant penal colony of New South Wales, Australia, on the Second Fleet as his father took up appointment as a Lieutenant in the New South Wales Corps. He was sent to England in 1799 to be educated, returning to Sydney in 1806. With his father, he took part in the deposition of Governor William Bligh in 1808. He soon left for London taking his father's version of the rebellion. His father followed in 1809 with two of Edward's younger brothers.

Edward obtained a commission in the 60th Regiment and served at Corunna and in Sicily. As a Lieutenant in the 39th Regiment he took part in Wellington's campaigns of 1812-14 and was present at Vittoria, the Pyrénées and the battles in southern France. After brief service in Canada he joined the army of occupation in France.

Visiting his parents in New South Wales in 1824, he was the first occupant of Hambledon House, a tenant dwelling his father had built on the Elizabeth Farm estate.^[1]

After serving as secretary in the Lord Chamberlain's Office in 1843-46 he was on the military staff in Ireland.

In 1851 he was posted to Sydney as deputy adjutant general. During his time in New South Wales he lived once more in Hambledon House.^[2] Promoted Colonel in 1854, he moved with the headquarters to Melbourne. He accompanied the commander-in-chief, Major General Sir Robert Nickle, to Eureka on 5th December. They talked freely with the miners and as a result of their investigations Nickle advised that martial law be withdrawn. In 1858 Macarthur chaired a royal commission on the defences of the colony.

In 1860 he returned to England, where he was promoted to Major General. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1862.

In that year, aged 73 years, he married Sarah Neill, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel W S Neill.

He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1866.

Sir Edward Macarthur died childless in London on 4th January 1872 and was buried in the Brompton cemetery. He was 82 years of age.

Sources

1. ↑ Charles, Michael. Old Parramatta: Pictorial Memories. Atrand Pty Ltd, Crows Nest NSW, 1986. ISBN 0-908772-09-X
2. ↑ Charles, Michael. Old Parramatta: Pictorial Memories. Atrand Pty Ltd, Crows Nest NSW, 1986. ISBN 0-908772-09-X

• Hill, A J. Macarthur, Sir Edward (1789–1872). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1974; accessed online 3 Nov 2017.