Читать книгу Australian History For Dummies - Alex McDermott - Страница 101

Macquarie believed in giving ex-convicts ‘every equality’, which he started pushing for in his official correspondence from quite early on. He gathered successful ex-convicts around him and gave them prominent positions, making them magistrates, police superintendents, surveyors and architects — and even making one a poet laureate. They were all warmly welcomed into ‘society’, invited by the Governor and his wife to receptions and dinners at Government House.

Macquarie also believed in treating newly arrived convicts as if their slate was cleaned of past behaviour. In this he was helped by the fact that, like previous governors, he had precious little information about the crime or character of those getting off the boat: A note about the sentence, a behaviour report from the hulk he or she had been transported from, and that was about it. This bureaucratic inoperativeness worked in Macquarie’s favour. The way he saw it, things started over when you arrived as a convict in Australia. Your behaviour, your diligence and (most of all) your usefulness was what counted most. The chance for convicts to start again was the priority.