Elizabeth Macarthur (14 August 1766 – 9 February 1850) was an Anglo-Australian pastoralist and merchant, and wife of John Macarthur. Early life Elizabeth Macarthur was born in Bridgerule, Devon, England, the daughter of provincial farmers, Richard and Grace Veale of Cornish origin. Her father died when she was aged four years. Her mother remarried when she was 11, leaving Elizabeth in the care of her grandfather, John, and friends. Elizabeth married Plymouth soldier John Macarthur in 1788. In 1790, with her newborn son Edward, she accompanied John and his regiment, the New South Wales Corps, to the recently established colony of New South Wales, travelling on the Second Fleet. Life in New South Wales Elizabeth was the first soldier's wife to arrive in New South Wales. Being educated, articulate, and well-read, her letters provide an important record of the infant convict town of Sydney and colonial life. She was an amateur astronomer and botanist and enjoyed a privileged position in society where she "held court amongst officers of the New South Wales Corps, naval officers and members of the colonial administration". John was made Commandant at Parramatta and received land grants in 1793 near there, at Rosehill, naming his property Elizabeth Farm after his wife. John became paymaster to the New South Wales Corps and director of public works. Elizabeth's respectability and charm were in contrast to her husband's disputatious nature and meant that she and her children retained a good social standing despite John's many controversial actions in the following years. However, Governor Phillip was the only governor she associated with, as her husband's business activities and actions later were "too controversial for any governor to seek the company of the Macarthur family". She had to travel to London leaving her family behind. Elizabeth's work centered on her family, the education of her children, and the management of a modest household. Elizabeth died in 1850, having first been estranged from her husband as his melancholia and paranoia deepened, and then surviving him by 16 years. She was an Anglican. Role in founding Australian wool industry Between 1801 and 1805, John was living in England, where he had been sent for court-martial after wounding his superior officer in a duel, and again from 1808 to 1817, avoiding an arrest warrant for his role in the Rum Rebellion of January 1808, and then because he refused to accept the terms for