Macquarie Series

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The subject matter that Peter explored for this project focused on Elizabeth Macquarie and some of the contributions she made in Colonial New South Wales that were still evident in 2010, such as the Botanic Gardens and other planning or architectural influences in and around Sydney.

He created links from the past to the present by depicting women of today who are descendents of colonial settlers and convicts from Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s time in the colony (1810-1822), and superimposing them on his interpretations of images such as drawings and engravings created by artists that were also living and working in the colony at that time. This created links with the landscape which are both historic and contemporary.

Lachlan Macquarie was appointed Governor of New South Wales in April 1809, designated to replace William Bligh whose governorship had been wracked with controversy. Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth sailed with the 73rd Regiment from Portsmouth in the store-ship Dromedary and escorted by H.M.S Hindostan on 22 May 1809, and they arrived at Port Jackson on 28 December. He took up his commission as governor on 1 January 1810 and was Governor until 1821.

The Exhibition that this series of works was created for, “Pathway’s and Perceptions – Macquarie 1810-2010” was to commemorate the Bicentenary of Macquarie’s’ Governorship and it opened at NSW Parliament House in Sydney on 22nd April 2010 and Bathurst Regional Art Gallery on 21st May 2010.