EPISODE · Mar 10, 2026 · 38 MIN
E19: John Macarthur in Sydney's First Duel
from Political History of Australia
In the late 1790s, John Macarthur took a step back from politics as he was pre-occupied with establishing the Australian wool industry. In mid-1800, the new governor Philip Gidley King was sworn in and it was clear he was a man on a mission to restore the prestige of the state … so Macarthur offered to sell everything and return to England. That sale didn’t eventuate but before long Macarthur would be challenged to, not one duel, but two. He had the brains to get out of the first one but suffered the ignominy of being a coward … so soon after when he was challenged again to a duel, he had little choice but to proceed. In most duels neither man was injured but high noon at Parramatta and John Macarthur did not miss.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What this episode covers
In the late 1790s, John Macarthur took a step back from politics as he was pre-occupied with establishing the Australian wool industry. In mid-1800, the new governor Philip Gidley King was sworn in and it was clear he was a man on a mission to restore the prestige of the state … so Macarthur offered to sell everything and return to England. That sale didn’t eventuate but before long Macarthur would be challenged to, not one duel, but two. He had the brains to get out of the first one but suffered the ignominy of being a coward … so soon after when he was challenged again to a duel, he had little choice but to proceed. In most duels neither man was injured but high noon at Parramatta and John Macarthur did not miss.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please leave a comment, share and rate the show ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Also listen and subscribe at Youtube and Rumble here 👉@politicalhistoryofaustraliaThe Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. johnruddick.com.auhttps://www.tiktok.com/@johnruddickmlchttps://x.com/JohnRuddick2https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnruddickmlc/https://www.facebook.com/johnruddickmlc https://www.instagram.com/john.ruddick/Produced by Sean Masters(All voices in this series as AI generated bar the narrator.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
NOW PLAYING
E19: John Macarthur in Sydney's First Duel
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m