Instructions from London could take up to nine months to arrive in Sydney, and so Macquarie often acted without official approval. With the aid of architectural books Elizabeth had brought from England, and with the help of a few key men such as Francis Greenway, Joseph Lycett, Thomas Legge and Nathaniel Lucas, Macquarie set his grand designs in motion.

His first commissions were a new barracks to house his regiment and a hospital. He was heavily criticised for the supposed extravagance of some buildings, particularly the Gothic-style stables which today house the Conservatorium of Music. Macquarie’s local opponents criticised the stables’ ‘opulence’ as typical of his ‘grandiose’ behaviour.