Biographical entry Macarthur, John (1767 - 1834)

Summary

John Macarthur was one of the first men in New South Wales to obtain Spanish Merino sheep from the Cape of Good Hope in 1797. He took specimens of fleeces from his flocks to England in 1802, wrote a Statement of the Improvement and Progress of the Breed of Fine Woolled Sheep in New South Wales (London, 1803) and was granted 5,000 acres of the best pasture land in the colony, to be increased by a further 5,000 if tangible results were forthcoming.

Published resources

Book Sections

• Steven, Margaret, 'Macarthur, John (1767-1834), soldier, entrepreneur and pastoralist', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 2, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1967, pp. 153-159. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020133b.htm. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Macarthur, John', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-626498. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/scripts/tia-dynindex.php3?EID=P003737. Details