The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia's history. During the 19th century it was widely referred to as the Great Rebellion. The Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh, was deposed by the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with John Macarthur, on 26 January 1808, 20 years to the day after Arthur Phillip founded European settlement in Australia. Afterwards, the colony was ruled by the military, with the senior military officer stationed in Sydney acting as the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony until the arrival from Britain of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie as the new Governor at the beginning of 1810.
Read more about Rum Rebellion: Appointment As Governor, The Overthrow of Governor Bligh, Aftermath, Causes
Famous quotes containing the words rum and/or rebellion:
“Yes the Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat—
And there isn’t any call for me to shout it:
For he will do
As he do do
And there’s no doing anything about it!”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“The rebellion is against time pollution, the feeling that the essence of what makes life worth living—the small moments, the special family getaways, the cookies in the oven, the weekend drives, the long dreamlike summers Mso much of this has been taken from us, or we have given it up. For what? Hitachi stereos? Club Med? Company cars? Racquetball? For fifteen-hour days and lousy day care?”
—Richard Louv (20th century)