In the early 1800s, colonial Sydney transformed from a drunken shanty town ruled by military oligarchs to a developed city ruled by pastoral capitalists. Australia’s first wool baron, John MacArthur, continued to grow his wealth while maintaining a powerful position in the colony, despite his corruption and role in overthrowing Governor William Bligh in the 1808 Rum Rebellion.
Australian wool develops into a thriving export industry as Sydney urbanises. Meanwhile, the violence of colonial and pastoral expansion have devastating impacts on local First Nations communities. In today’s show, part of the wool series, Betty takes Nick and the listeners through the events of the early 1800s surrounding the first exports of Australian wool.
Music has been removed from the podcast version of the show due to copyright. Please check out the music featured:
Bligh - Rum Rebellion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogrMXK5mVvE&list=OLAK5uy_mDELdtaMlJCn_uN...
This Land is Mine - Kev Carmody, Paul Kelly and Kelton Pell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKjwcQ8NzVM
Dyarrubin – Charlie Needs Braces
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7B-H_JFDgo
References and useful links:
Hedrick, M. C. (2024). The Australian Woolen Industry; British Investment in Colonial Australia: Unraveling the Threads of Economic Development 1788-1850.
The Mutiny on the Bounty:
https://beaconmedia.com.au/beaconmedia/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Mutiny-on-the-Bounty-1.pdf
The Rum Rebellion:
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/rum-rebellion
https://mhnsw.au/stories/convict-sydney/john-macarthur-ambitious-volatile-self-confident/
A history of Aboriginal Sydney:
https://historyofaboriginalsydney.edu.au/south-west/1810s
The Appin Massacre:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-15/state-heritage-listing-for-appin-massacre-site/101765746
Doin Time podcast about the Appin Massacre memorial:
https://www.3cr.org.au/dointime/episode/appin-massacre-memorial
Frontier War Stories Podcast:
https://koorimail.com/series/frontier-war-stories/
The Freedom of Species Team
