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Naming of the University and Shield

Naming of the University

Early discussions on the name to be chosen for Sydney's third metropolitan university came down to a two-way division between those who wanted to commemorate a great Australian figure in education, and those who preferred a geographical name. In 1964, Federal Cabinet came down in favour of naming the university after a prominent Australian. In the end, Governor Lachlan Macquarie was chosen ahead of suggestions which included WC Wentworth and Sir Henry Parkes.

"So the institution described as 'Australia's most radical and unconventional university', carried the name of the staunch Scots Tory and High Anglican soldier who had governed New South Wales at the height of the convict era. What counted with the Cabinet no doubt were his achievements as a builder, his humanitarianism and his interest in education."

Liberality of Opportunity: A History of Macquarie University 1964-1989, Bruce Mansfield and Mark Hutchinson, Macquarie University in association with Hale & Iremonger (1992).

Macquarie Lighthouse and Sirius

Macquarie Lighthouse was the first in Australia. Shortly after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Governor Phillip ordered a flagstaff be erected to signal the approach of supply ships bound for Sydney Cove. A beacon, fired firstly by wood, later by coal, was built in 1791 to guide vessels to the harbour entrance by night, becoming Australia's first marine light. This beacon, tended by convicts, provided guidance for shipping for the next 25 years.

On 13 July 1816, Governor Lachlan Macquarie laid the foundation stone of the new lighthouse. The lighthouse was to be the first of many significant works by the convict architect Francis Greenway. In 1817 Greenway was granted a conditional pardon in recognition of the quality of his work. The present building is a replica built in 1880 by Colonial Architect James Barnet. However the original building was not demolished until 1883 so, for a time, Sydney's South Head boasted two almost identical lighthouses standing side by side.

The first lightkeeper was Robert Watson, after whom nearby Watson's Bay was named. He had been quartermaster aboard HMS Sirius in the First Fleet.

The Arms of Macquarie University

The arms of the University shall be on a field vert, the Macquarie lighthouse tower, masoned proper, in chief the star Sirius, or. Motto: And gladly teche.

Of studie took he moost cure and moost heede.
 Noght o word spak he moore than was neede,
 And that was seyd in forme and reverence,
 And short and quyk and ful of hy sentence;
 Sownynge in moral vertu was his speche,
 And gladly wolde he lerne
 and gladly teche.

 (from the general Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer c. 1400)