Duke of York (the second son of King George III) criticising the insubordinate behaviour of the various military officers who refused to attend civil functions which were attended by emancipists. Macquarie also listed the names of loyal and well-behaved officers in his letters, which included the name of his aide-de-camp, John Watts. Watts lived with the Macquaries for five years, and was warmly regarded by them as one of the family. Architect The Governor was a prolific builder and, as the colony had a serious shortage of architects and engineers, he soon made use of Watts' architectural skills, asking him to design a new military hospital to be built on what is now called Observatory Hill in Sydney. This building later functioned as Fort Street High School from at 1849 to 1975, and today is the headquarters of the New South Wales branch of the National Trust of Australia. The inner-core of this building remains behind the later Victorian facade. Watts' successful completion of his first assignment led to more, many of which were based around the new inland settlement of Parramatta. In 1815-16 he worked on the repair and enhancement of Government House at Parramatta. He also designed a hospital at Parramatta 1817–18, a military barracks 1818-20, added two steeples to St John's Church at Parramatta 1818–19, worked on repairs to the road and bridges between Sydney and Parramatta, and the construction of a dam across the Parramatta River in 1818. Mrs Macquarie considered the improved water supply to Parramatta to be Watts' greatest achievement, as up to that time Parramatta had tended to suffer from a lack of drinking water in summer. He worked closely with Mrs Elizabeth Macquarie on the modifications to St John's Church and Government House at Parramatta, and is listed as one of those who accompanied the Macquaries on their tours to Bathurst in 1815, and to the Cowpastures area (in the vicinity of modern Camden) in the same year. Departure When Governor Macquarie's illegitimate nephew, the rakish Hector Macquarie arrived in New South Wales on 14 April 1818, Watts offered to relinquish his position, to allow Hector Macquarie to become the Governor's new aide-de-camp. This offer was rejected by Lachlan Macquarie, who encouraged Watts to write to England to seek promotion. After eight months with no reply, Watts resigned as aide-de-camp, and the Governor granted his request for a two-year leave of absence