How did Lachlan Macquarie change New South Wales between 1810 and 1821?

Lachlan Macquarie served as governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, transforming the colony from a penal outpost into a developing society through several key initiatives:1

• Social Reform: He expanded opportunities for Emancipists—convicts who had served their sentences—and sought to balance their influence against that of the wealthy landowners known as Exclusionists.1
• Infrastructure and Planning: He launched an extensive program of public works, sponsoring over 200 projects, including buildings designed by the architect Francis Greenway.1
• Economic Development: To stabilize the economy, he introduced the colony’s own currency in 1813 and helped establish its first bank in 1817.1
• Expansion: He actively encouraged the exploration and settlement of new lands, most notably supporting the successful crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813.1
• Aboriginal Policy: He implemented a policy toward the Indigenous population that was considered the most liberal since the colony’s founding.1

His focus on developing the colony through Emancipist agriculture eventually led to political friction with powerful landowners, resulting in a government investigation and his recall in 1821.1