Governor Phillip and Major Ross: Australia's First Colonial Power Struggle

Early New South Wales Governance Challenges

• 💡 The early New South Wales colony experienced significant institutional disorder and a struggle for authority, with military officers often undermining governors.
• 📈 Despite the disorder, an entrepreneurial drive among settlers led to spontaneous development of infrastructure and wealth, contrasting with London's desire for strict order.
• ⚠️ London eventually sent Governor William Bligh to restore order, but he was arrested by the military, highlighting the deep-seated power struggles.

The Phillip-Ross Rivalry Begins

• 📌 Governor Arthur Phillip, a lifelong Royal Navy servant, envisioned an autocratic rule focused on maximizing convict productivity and naval administration.
• 🔑 Major Robert Ross, commander of the New South Wales Marine Corps and lieutenant governor, offered an alternate, more liberal vision for the colony.
• ⚔️ The initial power struggle was marked by Phillip's perceived leniency towards convicts and strictness with Marines, causing resentment among Ross's corps.

Contrasting Leadership Styles

• 💬 Ross frequently complained to London about Phillip's lack of communication and consultation, feeling excluded from decision-making as the second-in-command.
• 🚫 Phillip refused to grant land to Marine Corps officers, wanting them focused on convict supervision, while Ross encouraged convicts to establish private enterprises.
• ⚖️ Historians often portray Ross negatively, but new archival documents suggest his criticisms of Phillip's governance and his ideas for colonial development had merit.

Major Ross's Norfolk Island Experiment

• 🚀 Phillip dispatched Ross to Norfolk Island in 1790, providing Ross an opportunity to implement his own vision for the colony.
• 🌱 Ross introduced the "acre plan," granting convicts 1-3 acres of land to clear and cultivate for self-sufficiency, rewarding successful farmers with effective legal title.
• 📊 This initiative, predating similar efforts on the mainland, led to impressive agricultural yields and a doubling of Norfolk Island's population, making its inhabitants better fed than those in Sydney.

Legacies of the Power Struggle

• 📉 Ross's tenure ended with his recall to Sydney, a duel, a humiliating prosecution, demotion, and eventual death, while Phillip returned to England due to declining health.
• ✅ Despite Phillip being historically lauded as the "hero," it was Ross's more laissez-faire, entrepreneurial spirit that ultimately laid the foundation for New South Wales's prosperity and dominated the early colonial period.
• 📜 The conflict between Phillip's autocracy and Ross's liberal approach shaped the character of the colony for its first two decades, influencing future governance.