#114 Australia...Thanks Ben!

This FDC was issued on Feb.16,2010 to commemorating the 200th anniversary of Lachlan Macquarie's swearing-in as Governor of New South Wales.

Lachlan Macquarie was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony. He is considered by some historians to have had a crucial influence on the transition of New South Wales from a penal colony to a free settlement and therefore to have played a major role in the shaping of Australian society in the early nineteenth century. An inscription on his tomb in Scotland describes him as "The Father of Australia".

Two hundred years ago Lachlan Macquarie (1762-1824) arrived in the colony of New South Wales.During his time as governor (1810-1821), Macquarie provided an important vision for the colony. He embarked on a public works program, erecting churches, parsonages, courthouses, lighthouses, convict barracks and factories. These buildings would transform the physical appearance of the colony.He also believed that former convicts,known as emancipists,should have all their rights reinstated and be fully restored to socity.Macquarie left New South Wales a better place than he had found it in 1810.