E24: John Macarthur's Back Baby - Bigger and Bolder than Ever!

E24: John Macarthur's Back Baby - Bigger and Bolder than Ever!

From Political History of Australia by John Ruddick

April 22, 2026 · 38 min · Season 1 · Episode 24

About this episode

This episode discusses the challenges faced by Governor Philip Gidley King and the return of John Macarthur to the Australian colonies.

Governor Philip Gidley King had had two big wins – he had secured Bass Strait and Van Diemen’s Land for Britain and he had ruthlessly and quickly crushed the Castle Hill Rebellion. But Governor King was a micro-manager and he heavily regulated not only economic activity but also the social lives of the colonists. All his central-planning resulted in the return of food rationing and general disquiet.   An exasperated Governor King wrote to London with his troubles and London oddly interpreted it as an offer of resignation and they promptly accepted that supposed resignation. Governor King had two more years as governor before his replacement arrived. He had arrived in 1800 as action man but now he slumped into despair and grew fat and sick. And then his worst nightmare – John Macarthur was back from England and not only had he gotten off scot-free over the court martial matter he had arrived with a ginormous land grant. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here…

People in this episode

Host: John Ruddick

Topics covered

  • Australian history
  • colonial governance
  • political conflicts
  • John Macarthur
  • Governor Philip Gidley King
  • Castle Hill Rebellion

Keywords

  • Philip Gidley King
  • John Macarthur
  • Castle Hill Rebellion
  • Bass Strait
  • Van Diemen’s Land
  • colonial Australia
  • political history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Britain

Places: Bass Strait, Van Diemen’s Land

More episodes of Political History of Australia

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Political History of Australia podcast page.