What was the Rum Rebellion? Briefly, the arrival of Governor-designate Bligh in August 1806 was viewed with some suspicion by vested interests in the local military force, the NSW Corps; although welcomed by many of the small settlers. This was confirmed by the first meeting between Bligh and the colony's wealthiest man, and former Rum Corps officer, John Macarthur. They met in the garden of Government House Parramatta at a dinner hosted by retiring Governor King, and almost immediately quarrelled when Macarthur began pressing his claims for a large grant of land.
Relations between Bligh and his supporters (the loyalists) and Macarthur, the NSW Corps and their supporters (the rebels) deteriorated rapidly. In the absence of a political assembly, their conflicts were fought out in the local courts. By the summer of 1808 the political atmosphere was poisonous, and on the evening of the 26th January a detachment of the NSW Corps marched on Government House Sydney where they seized the Governor, placed him under house arrest and declared a state of martial law to exist. This has been variously described as a coup d'état, a rebellion, an uprising or an insurrection, although the usual description at the time was a usurpation (according to its opponents) or the overthrow of a tyrant (according to its supporters). The term 'rum rebellion' was not invented until the 1850s.
Governor Bligh's signet ring with his Coat of arms, and the Public Seal of New South Wales:
emblems of the contested authority in the colony.
Reproduced courtesy of Dixon Library and Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW.
The rebellion lasted for nearly two years, covering almost the whole of 1808 and 1809. This period of rebel administration has three distinct phases. The first lasted for six months under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel George Johnston, with Macarthur as his Colonial Secretary; the second for nearly six months under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Foveaux; and the third for twelve months under Colonel William Paterson. Each of these men exercised the vice-regal functions, and used the title of Lieutenant Governor.
Bligh was detained in Government House Sydney until he agreed to leave for England in February 1809. However, he instead sailed for Hobart, where he remained exiled on HMS Porpoise until he heard of Macquarie's arrival and sailed back to Sydney. The rebellion officially ended on New Years Day 1810 when Macquarie assumed the office of Governor and revoked all the acts of the rebels.
A map of Sydney drawn in 1807 shows the town at the time of the rebellion.
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Public cemeteries
Key: R = Rebel, L = Loyalist
* = cemetery listed on the SHR; others are LEP listed.
*St John's Cemetery, 1 O'Connell Street, Parramatta
R John Blaxland, died 1845 at Newington
R Nicholas Bayly, died 1823 at 'Bayly Park', Cabramatta
L Francis Oakes, died 1844 at Parramatta
L John Palmer, died 1833 at Parramatta
L Robert Campbell Snr, died 1846 at 'Duntroon', Limestone Plains (now Canberra)
St. Peter's Cemetery, Windsor Street, Richmond
L John Bowman, died 1825 at 'Archerfield', Richmond
L Thomas Matcham Pitt, died 1821 at Richmond
*St Matthew's Cemetery, Moses Street, Windsor
L Andrew Thompson, died 1810 at his home, Windsor
L Thomas Arndell, died 1821 at 'the Hawkesbury'
R Richard Fitzgerald, died 1840 at his house in Windsor
R John Brabyn, died 1835, at 'York Lodge', Windsor
*Ebenezer Uniting (Presbyterian) Church churchyard, Coromandel Road, Ebenezer
L James Mein, died 1827
L Andrew Johnston, died 1849
L John Turnbull, died 1834
St Luke's Anglican churchyard, Liverpool
R Thomas Moore, died 1840 at 'Moorebank', Liverpool
*St Bartholemew's Anglican Church churchyard, Ponds Road, Prospect
R William Lawson, died 1850 at 'Veteran Hall', Prospect
Castlereagh Cemetery, Church Lane, Cranebrook
L Rev. Henry Fulton, died 1840 at Castlereagh Parsonage
Holy Trinity Cemetery, Gilmore Street, Kelso nr. Bathurst
L George Suttor, died 1859 at 'Brucedale', Peel
Pioneers Park in Botany Cemetery, Bunnerong Road, Matraville
L George Crossley, died 1823 in Sydney, buried Sandhills Cemetery (now site of Central Railway Station), relocated to Botany Cemetery in 1901
R Simeon Lord, died 1840 at 'his home next to his factory' at Botany, buried Sandhills Cemetery, relocated to Botany Cemetery in 1901
R William Minchin, died 1821 in Elizabeth Street, Sydney, buried Sandhills Cemetery, relocated to Botany Cemetery in 1901
Waverley Cemetery, St Thomas Street, Waverley
R George Johnston, died 1823, buried 'Annandale' family vault, relocated to Waverley in 1905.
*St Stephen's Cemetery, 187 Church Street, Camperdown
L John Putland, died 1808, buried in a vault at old St Phillip's on Church Hill, but later relocated to Town Hall burial ground, then later relocated to St Stephens (headstone remains in present St Phillip's). Mary Putland had intended to have the body sent back to England, but was prevented by the outbreak of the rebellion
*Rookwood Necropolis, Lidcombe
R Thomas Laycock, died 1809 in Pitt Street, Sydney, buried Town Hall burial ground, relocated to Rookwood
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Private cemeteries
*Macarthur Family Cemetery, Camden Park, Menangle
R John Macarthur, died 1834 at Camden Park, buried in family cemetery.
Belmont Park/St John of God Hospital, Grose Vale Road, North Richmond
R Archibald Bell, died 1837 at 'Belmont', buried in family cemetery
Pearce Family Cemetery, Seven Hills Road, Baulkham Hills
L Matthew Pearce, died 1831 at 'Bella Vista', buried in family cemetery
Northern Sydney TAFE, North Sydney Campus, Pacific Highway, Artarmon
L William Gore, died 1845 at Artarmon, but not buried until 1860, at 'Artarmon House' (now site of Northern Sydney TAFE)
Tasmania
Port Dalrymple (now Launceston) c1806, where Lt. Paterson remained for 13 months despite repeated requests
for his return to Sydney; and a view across the Derwent River in Hobart, c1806 where Bligh remained in exile
on HMS Porpoise February 1809 to January 1810.
Reproduced courtesy of Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW.
R Anthony Fenn Kemp, died 1868, buried St George's churchyard, Sandy Bay
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The Rebellion
