General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane 1842
by James Faed (1821–1911) after John Watson-Gordon (1788–1864)
mezzotint
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008
Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane (1773–1860) was born into an aristocratic Scottish family and entered the army at the age of sixteen. Brisbane served in Britain, Europe and the West Indies before he was appointed sixth Governor of New South Wales, replacing Lachlan Macquarie in late 1821. Like his predecessors, Brisbane was much occupied by land and convicts, and with managing the conflicting interests of emancipists and wealthy colonists. He introduced economic and currency reforms, established a supreme court, opposed censorship of the press, and as the first patron of the New South Wales Agricultural Society oversaw experiments with crops such as tobacco, cotton, coffee and flax. Elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1812, Brisbane was a keen astronomer and during his term as governor established an observatory in the grounds of Old Government House at Parramatta. He left a collection of instruments and his scientific library when he was recalled from office in 1825. He continued his scientific work after his return to Scotland, ultimately cataloguing more than 7000 stars.