Review: Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm, by Alan Atkinson is a kindly look at early colonial life

And I think you may like her more than him. And you may feel that she should be recognised far more than she has been for the decisions which eventually led to the transformation of a penal colony into a prosperous economy.

The book paints a human picture of a couple who were both pioneers in the formation of Australia. It wasn't just him.

You may read many dryish histories of the early years of colonial Australia, and get from them a sense of the broad sweep - the political forces, the struggles and the conflicts between classes and personalities - but Professor Atkinson's portrait is intimate and affectionate. It reads well while maintaining the highest standards of academic rigour (and the two don't always go together).

It's a good read for anyone interested in people and how couples get on and don't get on, but the micro also illuminates the macro. It's an intimate account and the broad sweep of history. What a delight.

It is particularly strong on the political economy of the first years, the choices about land ownership and management, about crops and flocks. John Macarthur was well versed in British thought on agricultural improvement. Elizabeth Macarthur also read widely and was well versed in botany and the principles of animal and plant breeding.

John Macarthur and Elizabeth Veale were both born in the west of England (he in 1767 and the she in 1766). At the age of 15, he became an officer in the British army. They wed in 1788 and came to Australia a year later with the Second Fleet. He planned to make enough money to return to Britain as a prosperous, even wealthy, man.

In 1793, the Governor of New South Wales awarded him 100 acres of the "best ground that has been discovered". He - just possibly they - named the acreage in Parramatta Elizabeth Farm (the brick building still stands and is well worth a visit).

The land grew on them, particularly on her: "We enjoy here one of the finest climates in the world. The necessaries of life are abundant, and a fruitful soil affords us many luxuries."

"It is now spring, and the eye is delighted with a most beautiful variegated landscape; almonds, apricots, pear and apple trees are in full bloom; the native shrubs are also in flower, and the whole country gives a grateful perfume."

He was the dignitary - the mover and shaker (not always in a good way) - but she emerges as the hero. He was the controversial, difficult public figure.

Because of the lack of visibility of women in early colonial Australia, we will never know how much of the innovation for which he takes credit was actually hers.

The book paints a picture of her as knowledgeable and wise. She shaped - and took - decisions which sent Australia towards prosperity. Her curiosity about botany, in particular, may well have been essential to the introduction of merino sheep to Australia, the breed which laid the foundations for an industry and a prosperous economy.

John Macarthur was absent from colony from 1801 to 1805 and from 1809 to 1817, lobbying and politicking in London.

In those long absences, she was responsible for the care of the merino flocks, both at Elizabeth Farm and at the other Macarthur property, in Camden.

She discussed the choice of rams, the sales of sheep and how fleeces could be improved. She wrote detailed reports of what worked and what didn't.

In the past, she has been painted as meek in the face of a bombastic, aggressive male but the book paints a picture of a strong woman with views of her own, and the evidence to back them up.

Quiet she may have been, but she was also knowledgeable and endlessly curious. He could start a row in an empty room; she studied and ought to have been listened to - and maybe she was. She emerges from Professor Atkinson's affectionate account at thoughtful and effective while the loud man strutted the stages in London and Sydney.

It is a dynamic not unique to their marriage or their time.