Martin Mason (pioneer)

Did You Know?

• In 1800, Mason acted as surgeon during floggings after a planned mutiny by Irish convicts was thwarted.
• Mason disappeared in 1811 after booking passage to Sydney on the Mary; he was not seen by his family again.
• Some of Bligh's party believed Mason was murdered before boarding the Mary in London.

Early career

Martin Mason studied medicine at Greenwich Hospital near London and sailed for Sydney as surgeon on Britannia, arriving on 18 July 1798. Governor Philip Gidley King appointed him Assistant Colonial Surgeon in 1801 and magistrate for Parramatta and Toongabbie in 1802. That year Mason received a 300-acre land grant at Mulgrave Place in the Hawkesbury Settlement. Discharged as Assistant Surgeon at the end of 1803, he opened the first medical practice in Australia at Green Hills (present day Windsor).

Coal River mutiny

In early 1802, Mason was sent to Coal River (present day Newcastle) as magistrate to investigate a convict mutiny involving Irish political prisoners. He remained there for three months until recalled by Governor King. During his command, he instigated shaft mining, which enabled more and better quality coal to be extracted.

Marsden v Mason

In a defamation case heard on 14 February, 3 and 4 March 1806, Reverend S. Marsden sued Mason for £50. Mason pleaded not guilty. The transcript shows Marsden pursuing Mason over Mason's claim that during the night of the 1804 Castle Hill Rebellion, Marsden ran away—a claim that was true. A letter by Elizabeth Macarthur describes her flight by long boat from Parramatta on 4 March under Marsden's protection.

Involvement in the Rum Rebellion

During the 1808 Rum Rebellion, Governor William Bligh was deposed by officers of the New South Wales Corps. Bligh owned a farm near Mason in the Hawkesbury district, and Mason, along with other settlers, supported Bligh, incurring the wrath of John Macarthur. In August 1810, Mason was deputized with George Suttor to act for Hawkesbury settlers and sailed for London with Bligh on HMS Hindostan. At the subsequent trial of rebel officers, Mason testified, resulting in Bligh's vindication and charges against Major George Johnston and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Foveaux.