January 26, 2010

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Exactly 20 years after the First Fleet dropped anchor in Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788, Australia experienced its first, and only, military insurrection – the Rum Rebellion.  The revolt was perpetrated against William Bligh, fourth Governor of New South Wales and former Captain of HMS Bounty. The perpetrators were the influential officers of the NSW Corps – also known as the ‘Rum’ Corps because of their control of the colony’s ‘rum’ trade.  Under instruction to limit their power and restore and stabilize trade in the area, Bligh introduced reforms that threatened the officers’ activities and prestige. He clashed, too, with leading Sydney businessman John Macarthur, a former Corps officer, on a several issues.  Following Macarthur’s arrest, the Corps, led by Major George Johnston, marched on Government House, reputedly dragging the “tyrant” Bligh ignominiously from beneath a bed before confining him to house-arrest as unfit for office and held him prisoner pending the arrival of a new governor. 

RUM REBELLION - A STUDY OF THE OVERTHROW OF GOVERNOR BLIGH BY JOHN MACARTHUR AND THE NEW SOUTH WALES CORPS 

Bligh remained confined for over a year, until he finally agreed to set sail for England, but once aboard he turned back and attempted to resume control of Sydney. In 1809, the British government, recognizing the impasse between governor and military, recalled Bligh. Colonel Lachlin Macquarie, an able administrator, arrived take over as governor. The commandant was later found guilty of mutiny and the New South Wales Corps was broken up. Having informally heard arguments from both sides, the government authorities in England were not impressed by either Macarthur and Johnston's accusations against Bligh, or by Bligh's ill-tempered letters accusing key figures in the colony of unacceptable conduct. Johnston was court-martialed, found guilty and cashiered, the lowest penalty possible. He was then able to return as a free citizen to his estate, Annandale, in Sydney. Macarthur was not tried but was refused permission to return to NSW until 1817, since he would not admit his wrongdoing. Bligh's promotion to rear admiral was delayed until the end of Johnston's trial. Afterward it was backdated to 31 July 1810 and Bligh took up a position that had been kept for him. He continued his naval career in the Admiralty in unspectacular fashion and died in 1817.