  major-general lachlan macquarie cb (; 31 january 1762 â 1 july 1824) was a british army officer and colonial administrator from scotland. he served as the fifth and last autocratic governor of new south wales from 1810 to 1821,davidson g., et al (1998), p. 405 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony. he is considered by 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.ward, r., (1975), pp. 37â38molony, j., (1987), p. 47 an inscription on his tomb in scotland describes him as "the father of australia".davidson g., et al (1998), p. 406 ==early life and career== lachlan macquarie was born on the island of the ulva off the coast of the isle of mull in the inner hebrides, a chain of islands off the west coast of scotland. he was descended from the scottish highland family clan macquarrie which possessed ulva, staffa, and a region of the isle of mull for over one thousand years, and his forebears were buried on iona. governor macquarie's father, a "man of intelligence, polite, and much of the world," and supposedly attained the age of 103 years, dying on 4 january 1818. his mother was the daughter of a maclaine chieftain who owned a castle on the isle of mull.ellis, m.h., (1952), p. 2 macquarie left the island at the age of 14.keay, j. & keay, j. (1994) collins encyclopaedia of scotland london. harpercollins. if h
1762_births 1824_deaths 71st_Highlanders_officers 73rd_Regiment_of_Foot_officers 84th_Regiment_of_Foot_officers Australian_penal_colony_administrators British_Army_generals British_Army_personnel_of_the_American_Revolutionary_War City_founders Governors_of_New_South_Wales People_educated_at_the_Royal_High_School,_Edinburgh People_from_Argyll_and_Bute Scottish_soldiers