The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Macarthur, Hon. Sir William
Macarthur, Hon. Sir William, M.L.C., fourth son of John Macarthur, of Camden Park, New South Wales (q.v.), was born at Parramatta in Dec. 1800, and educated in England with his brother James. He was principally engaged in pastoral pursuits, but was a member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales from 1849 to 1855, in which year he acted as a Commissioner of the colony at the Paris Exhibition. For his services thereat he received a knighthood and the decoration of the Legion of Honour, and returned to the colony in Nov. 1857. Sir William Macarthur took an active part in forming a collection of New South Wales products for the London Exhibition of 1862; but, though in England at the time, he refused the post of Assistant Commissioner offered him by the Government, and returned to the colony in March 1864, when he accepted a seat in the Legislative Council. He died unmarried on Oct. 29th 1882.