E20: The Court Martial of John Macarthur

E20: The Court Martial of John Macarthur

From Political History of Australia by John Ruddick

March 18, 2026 · 38 min · Season 1 · Episode 20

About this episode

This episode discusses the court martial of Captain John Macarthur following a duel in 1801.

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 👉@politicalhistoryofaustralia The Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council.  johnruddick.com.au…

People in this episode

Host: John Ruddick

Topics covered

  • court martial
  • Australian history
  • John Macarthur
  • duel
  • colonial politics

Keywords

  • court martial
  • John Macarthur
  • Governor King
  • NSW Corps
  • duel
  • land grant
  • Australian history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NSW Corps, NSW Legislative Council

Places: England, NSW

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