Gary: Macquarie was ALWAYS very keen on pushing himself forward for promotions for himself and his "family" members, at every opportunity; and he ACTIVELY canvassed for this position once he knew that it was becoming available. I would very strongly recommend that anyone who is interested in the Macquarie era of our history, should read Malcolm ELLIS's wonderfully well-researched and well-written biography of him: "Lachlan Macquarie: His Life, Adventures, and Times". One of the things which this book reveals, is how the positions which he held in India, equipped him extremely well to be the governor of NSW. ray ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Luke" <gary@feraltek.com.au> ... It's not well know that Macquarie wasn't intended to be the governor. > Colonel Nightingale was selected as governor, with Macquarie only in > command of the military. In April 1809 Nightingale fell ill and > resigned. As the least embarrasing solution for the colonial office > Macquarie was hastily promoted in May, a fortnight before the ships > set sail. So instead of spending only a few years as a military > officer in one of Britain's colonies, suddenly without preparation he > was thrown into governing the whole colony for 22 years.