Macquaries Tomb - Isle of Mull
Lachlan Macquarie was born on the Island of Ulva, off the west coast of Mull, in 1761. He would become one of the most recognisable characters of Colonial Australia and was later described as “The Father of Australia,” thanks to his work as Governor of New South Wales from 1810-1821.
The American War of Independence (1775-83) prompted Macquarie, aged 16, to enroll in active military service with his father in 1775. By 1781 he was promoted to Lieutenant. This signaled the beginning of an impressive military career that would span over 30 years and see him achieve the rank of Major General. His service not only earned him a small fortune but provided him with the opportunity to travel. He visited North America, Jamaica and Egypt before beginning a long period of association with India.
While in Bombay, he met and married Jane Jarvis, the heiress daughter of a former Chief Justice of Antigua. Sadly, three years into their marriage, Jane died of tuberculosis.
Jane’s death resulted in Macquarie sinking into a deep depression that led him back to Mull where he met Elizabeth Campbell, who later became his second wife. Married in 1807, Macquarie was offered the position of Governor of NSW by the British Crown and arrived in the Colony in 1809. In March 1814, Elizabeth gave birth to Lachlan Jr., heir to the Mull estate.
Macquarie took office in 1810 and set about improving the morale and the physical infrastructure of the Colony. The Governor and Elizabeth toured widely, forging strong relationships and establishing a positive, progressive tone that soon saw the creation of a civilised and stable society.
Ill health led Macquarie to tend his resignation three times during his term in office; his third offer was accepted and the family returned to Great Britain in 1822. A tour of the continent followed and afterwards the family retreated to Mull. In 1824, sensing his death approaching, Lachlan put his affairs in order and chose a burial site on the Gruline Estate in Mull. He died on 1 July 1824.
For many years the mausoleum was sadly neglected. But in 1948, Lady Yarborough, the owner of a nearby estate, gifted the mausoleum site to the people of New South Wales. Today, the tomb is preserved and protected by both The National Trust of Scotland and The National Trust of Australia (NSW). In 1851 the Drummond family, a socially prominent family, built a final mausoleum on the site.
Set in a grassed area surrounded by a circular stone wall with wrought iron gates, the Macquarie Mausoleum is a plain sandstone structure with two marble panels enclosing the entrance doorways. It holds the remains of Governor Macquarie, wife Elizabeth, their son Lachlan and their daughter Jane, who passed away in early infancy. The epitaph on Macquarie’s tomb is fitting: “His services have justly attached a lasting honour to his name.”
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