The naval ships were meant to sustain and defend the settlement, but the colony never settled the relationship between security and civil government. The New South Wales Marines resisted supervising convicts, sitting in courts, or becoming ordinary colonial administrators because their commander wanted them to remain soldiers rather than jailers. Their later army replacements were much more willing to enter politics and commerce, but ultimately used that access for private enrichment and helped remove Governor William Bligh. A more workable division would have kept Marines responsible for naval stores and the governor while another formation handled the wider garrison and penal duties. The shortage of trustworthy personnel became a constitutional as well as a military problem.
Chapter · 13:50-20:03
New South Wales Marines, the Corps, and divided security roles
The contrast between the original Marines and their army successors shows how garrison culture could produce either administrative paralysis or self-interested political power.