Literary Journal Issue#5 2011 - Cranbrook School

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Conversations with Jane continued
‘I believe so,’ Macquarie whispered, so quietly that the boy
was not quite certain what he had said. But out of
courtesy, and also some fear, he didn’t ask the Major to
repeat himself. Macquarie had never been angry with him,
but George had seen him argue with others. His master’s
temper was quick to begin and ferocious once released.
A messenger stumbled up behind Macquarie and George,
knocking the boy over out of ungainliness but also a little
on purpose, showing the dominance he assumed over the
small Indian boy.
This infuriated Macquarie. ‘Watch your step, soldier,’ he
said with calm ferocity. ‘What have you come to tell me?’
Red-faced, the messenger stammered out his response,
‘Ti - Tip - Tippoo has been killed, sir. The r - rebels have
laid down their arms and the battle is c - concluded.’
Macquarie turned and muttered to himself, ‘Victory is
ours, Jane.’
Only George heard him.
Macquarie never got the large share of the winning spoils
that he had hoped for after Serigapatam. He received only
1300 pounds, almost 1000 less than what he expected.
After India, he spent time in Egypt fighting under Baird
for a few years, before returning to England to find a new
wife.
Part 2
Macquarie was ordered to New South Wales in 1809 and
was selected as Governor in 1810. His first six years were the
most successful in the colony’s history and Macquarie’s policies
towards convicts and Aboriginals were unique and liberal.
But in 1816 a violent disturbance from a group of natives
had forced Macquarie’s hand.
He had to react to what they had done.
1
‘I therefore very unwillingly felt myself compelled from a
paramount sense of public duty, to come to the painful
resolution of chastising these hostile tribes, and to inflict
terrible and exemplary punishments upon them. I have
this day ordered three separate military detachments to
march into the interior and remote parts of the colony, for
the purpose of punishing the hostile natives, by clearing
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the country of them entirely, and driving them across the
mountains. In the event of the natives making the
smallest show of resistance or refusing to surrender when
called upon so to do, the officers commanding the
military parties have been authorised to fire on them to
compel them to surrender; hanging up on trees the bodies
of such natives as may be killed on such occasions, in
order to strike the greater terror into the survivors.’
Macquarie laid down his quill, closed the leather cover of
his journal and leaned back in his chair.
2
Macquarie stumbled through the maize fields; the vibrant
yellow ears of grain pattered against his thighs and tickled
his side gently. He let his arms dangle slightly so that the
taut skin on his palms could glide across the silky tips of
the stalks. He was not looking forward to what he was
about to see. As he went further, red blotches stained the
yellow of the corn and a crimson tinge seemed to fill the
air. Fifty metres ahead Captain Wallis stood.
‘Over here, sir.’
The maize that had been brought from Europe was
stained with the natives’ blood. Just as he was now stained.
The irony was not lost on Macquarie.
He took a deep breath, pressed his handkerchief, which
was drenched with sweat from his hand, to his mouth and
preceded onwards. The smell hit him well before the
actual sight; it engulfed him and made it nearly
impossible to move. He saw a child’s arm to his left, a
woman’s dismembered corpse next to it, and through a
clearing in the corn, a group of bodies, some headless and
covered in flies. They were huddled together as if
searching for warmth. Strangely, they seemed peaceful
amidst the savagery.
And for some reason, Macquarie thought of Jane.
‘Their heads have been taken to Sydney to be exhibited as
an example of what befalls those who break the law, sir.
You made the right choice, these black savages deserved it.’
‘Deserved this?’ Macquarie fumbled for words. ‘Why, in
God’s name, did you take the heads?’
‘You asked for severe punishment, Governor.’