PREFACE. 



THE selection of the period of New South Wales history covered 

 by this book, of the years 1810 to 1821, may seem to call for ex- 

 planation. The choice was not arbitrarily made, but was due to 

 the fact that the publication of the historical records of the State 

 commenced by the New South Wales Government in 1892 

 ceased in 1901 with the issue of the seventh volume of the series, 

 containing the documents of the years 1809 to 1811. These 

 documents consisted of official papers and a few private letters, 

 and by their help the history of the Colony may be traced from 

 Captain Cook's first voyage to the end of 1811. It was there- 

 fore obvious that further research should commence where this 

 publication left off. By going back, however, to the commence- 

 ment of Governor Macquarie's rule in 1810, the period is brought 

 to a natural conclusion with his return to England in the begin- 

 ning of 1822. 



Very little has been written of the history of Australia apart 

 from tales of exploration and travel. Each volume of the 

 Historical Records of New South Wales, however, is prefaced by 

 an introduction to some extent summarising the documents, so 

 that an easily verifiable account of the history of the Colony may 

 be obtained up to the end of 1811. But the documents are 

 not well arranged, and the introductions are scanty and confused, 

 and it is almost a matter of research, even before 1 8 1 1 , to gain 

 a clear idea of the state of the country and the course of its 

 development. 1 



1 The History of New South Wales from the Records, by G. B. Barton, vol. 

 i., gives a full and authentic account of the Colony up to 1792. 



