Governor Bligh and the Rum Rebellion

 

Introduction

On 26 January 1808, the New South Wales Corps, under the leadership of Major George Johnston, arrested Governor Bligh and other persons in colonial authority, and declared Martial Law, in what has been called the Rum Rebellion.

Governor Bligh has been portrayed as a person whose brash personality and colonial policies left Major Johnson with no option, but to take control of the New South Wales Government.

From an examination of the documentation relating to that significant period in the history of New South Wales and the correspondence of the key players, it becomes clear that the Rum Rebellion was not only aimed at Governor Bligh, but also involved the removal of key civil administrators and judicial officers, who were collectively seen to be negatively affecting the prosperity of those who were able to accumulate power and wealth.

Under the following headings, excerpts from various commentaries and despatches from Volumes Six and Seven, Series One of the Historical Records of Australia [published by William Applegate Gullick, Government Printer, Sydney 1916] provide a background to the Rum Rebellion and the key participants.

 

     

First Day Cover issued on 26th January 1983
The image on the left is a section from a painting, Major Johnston announcing the arrest of Governor Bligh by Raymond Lindsay.

 

Links

Parliament of NSW - 1788 to 1810 - Early European Settlement
SMH - The Rum Rebellion
ABC - The life, times and travels of the extraordinary Vice-Admiral William Bligh - an interactive graphic novel (uses Shockwave)
Australian Dictionary of Biography - William Bligh (1754 - 1817)

 

 

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