John Macarthur
On This Day
12 Feb 1793 - John Macarthur granted land at Parramatta
On this day 12 February 1793 John Macarthur was granted 100 acres of land at Parramatta by Acting Governor Francis Grose. Macarthur was the first man to clear and cultivate 50 acres
A taste for the ornate
Traces of long-lost decorative features at Elizabeth Farm provide insights into changing fashions in 19th‑century architecture and design
Museum stories
A turbulent past
With its deep, shady verandahs and elegant symmetry, Elizabeth Farm is an iconic early colonial bungalow
Architectural remnants from The Vineyard - Subiaco
The Vineyard at Rydalmere NSW (later known as Subiaco), designed by architect John Verge for Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur and completed in 1836, is almost universally described by architectural historians as one of Sydney’s finest colonial homes
Eastern influences on colonial dining
Two intricately painted and monogrammed china plates that were once part of a large dessert service made for the table of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, are testimony to an adventurous spirit in early colonial Sydney
Elizabeth Farm - The Old and The New
This film was digitised as part of a special project to preserve 'at risk' audio-visual archives
Growing up on Elizabeth Farm
The Macarthur children of Elizabeth Farm had fields, gardens and muddy riverbanks to explore
James Watsford, coachman for the Macarthurs
From convicted horse thief to trusted coachman for the Macarthurs, and finally coach proprietor, the story of James Watsford shows that with a little luck and the right connections some convicts were able to turn their fortunes around
Convict Sydney
John Macarthur - Ambitious, volatile, self-confident
John Macarthur is well remembered as an ambitious and ruthless soldier who forged a powerful colonial farming dynasty