Series 8
25
The First Fleet
In 1788, a fleet of 11 ships arrived in New South Wales to establish a convict colony.
They endured a sometimes rough voyage lasting eight months, barely knowing what
to expect when they arrived. They found a country populated by an ancient people,
with strange plants and animals. An understanding of Australian history is not
possible without an understanding of the voyage of the First Fleet.
An undated page
from the diary of
First Fleet marine
John Easty
Tuesday 11.30am on
Georgia background
Voyage of the First Fleet
1786
Sending the First Fleet
Portsmouth
In the 18th century Britain’s prisons were overcrowded.
This was partly due to an increase of crime, but also
an increase in the number of offences for which
people could be convicted – the government’s
misguided attempt to put a stop to crime. Since the
17th century, one of the major ways of reducing the
number of convicts in prisons had been to exile them
to the colonies in America. But when the Americans
declared independence in 1775 that became impossible.
The British looked for another place to establish a
convict colony, debating various options. In 1786, the
authorities chose the land, Terra Australis, claimed
by explorer Captain James Cook in 1770. A fleet was
assembled and it left England on May 13, 1787.
Europe
North
America
Asia
AT L A N T I C
OCEAN
Tenerife
PA C I F I C
OCEAN
Africa
Equator
South
America
Rio de Janeiro
PA C I F I C
OCEAN
Cape Town
Cape of
Good Hope
INDIAN
OCEAN
Australia
Botany Bay
Port Jackson
(Sydney)
SOUTHERN OCEAN
First Fleet convicts near Black Friars Bridge on the Thames
in London, before sailing for Australia in 1787
William Bradley drawings
from the First Fleet
Journal titled A Voyage
to New South Wales
December 1786-May 1792.
Why New South Wales?
Miniature replica of the Sirius at the First Fleet Ships
exhibition at the Museum of Sydney
Ships on the voyage
There were 11 ships in the First Fleet. Two were naval
vessels, others were mostly private vessels hired for the
expedition. After helping to establish the colony, some of
the ships later went on to Asia to load cargoes of tea.
Alexander: at about 440 tonnes and 35m long, it
was the biggest ship in the fleet. The Alexander
carried 195 convicts and was commanded by
Captain Duncan Sinclair. Disease was rife aboard
the ship, with 21 convicts dying on the voyage.
Borrowdale: Commanded by Captain Readthorn
Hobson, this ship carried no convicts. Instead
it carried supplies for the colony.
Charlotte: Commanded by Captain Thomas Gilbert.
Charlotte carried 88 male and 20 female convicts.
Fishburn: Commanded by Captain
Robert Brown. Store ship.
Friendship: Commanded by Captain Francis Walton.
It carried 76 male and 21 female convicts. On its
return voyage to England many crew members
were lost to scurvy. The ship had to be scuttled
and the survivors transferred to the Alexander.
Golden Grove: Commanded by Captain William Sharp.
This ship carried supplies but also the Reverend
Richard Johnson, the colony’s first clergyman.
Lady Penrhyn: Commanded by Captain William Sever
who was also part-owner. It carried 101 female convicts.
Prince of Wales: Commanded by Captain John Mason. This
ship carried 49 female convicts and only one male convict.
Scarborough: Commanded by Captain John Marshall.
The Scarborough carried 208 male convicts. An
attempt at a mutiny by convicts Tom Griffiths and
Phillip Farrell aboard the ship was thwarted.
HMS Sirius: The flagship of the First Fleet, she was
commanded by Captain John Hunter, but for the first
part of the voyage carried Captain Arthur Phillip, who
would become governor of the colony. In 1790, the
Sirius was wrecked on a reef off Norfolk Island.
HMS Supply: Commanded by Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird
Ball. Supply was the smallest and fastest ship in the fleet.
The reasons why the British government chose New
South Wales have been debated for a long time. It
seems clear that finding a place to dispose of convicts
was the overriding concern and that a country halfway
around the globe would discourage escape. But the
fact they chose the southern continent shows other
concerns were also influential. One major concern was
military strategy. There were fears another nation such
as France would claim the continent before the British.
This would mean France would not only gain whatever
economic benefits the land could yield but also that
they would be able to interfere with British trade in
the region. There were also resources that could be
exploited in the area, for instance supplies of flax found
in New Zealand and on Norfolk Island gave hopes of
a new source of rope and canvas.
was never a more
‘ There
abandoned set of wretches
Picture: STATE LIBRARY OF NSW
Sydney Cove, Port Jackson,
as depicted in a chart by
William Bradley, six weeks
after the First Fleet landed
in Australia in 1788
Captain Arthur Phillip,
who led First Fleet to
Australia 1787, was the
first governor of NSW.
Picture: MUSEUM OF
SYDNEY COLLECTION
collected in one place at any
period than are now to be met
with in this ship in particular,
and I am credibly informed the
comparison holds with regard
to all convicts in the fleet
January 18: The Supply arrives in Botany Bay but
Phillip soon finds it unsuitable for a settlement
January 19: Three more of the fastest ships arrive
January 20: The rest of the ships arrive in Botany Bay
January 21: Phillip and Captain John Hunter scout
for a better location for the colony. They find a
harbour to the north, to become known as Port
Jackson, which is vastly superior to Botany Bay
Janury 23: Phillip and Hunter return
from the scouting voyage
January 24: Two French ships, L’Astrolabe and La
Boussole, commanded by explorer Jean-Francoise
Galaup count de La Perouse, are seen off Botany Bay.
January 25: A group of officers and convicts go to Port
Jackson to begin preparations for setting up camp.
January 26: The rest of the Fleet moves to Port Jackson,
where Phillip proclaims the founding of the colony.
Conditions on the vessels
This was a voyage of punishment, so shipboard
conditions for convicts were not pleasant. Convicts lived
in cramped, smelly, dark, damp quarters infested with
lice, cockroaches and rats. The prisoners remained
chained below decks for most of the voyage but were
allowed up on decks occasionally for fresh air, to dry their
bedding and clothes or to allow the cells to be cleaned
and fumigated. Their bunks were about 1.8m square
with less than 2m headroom. There was no privacy and
convicts shared a bucket as a toilet. Convicts washed
in sea water. On some ships female prisoners found
themselves as “companions” for soldiers and ships’
officers and many women ended up pregnant. Convicts’
food included salted beef and pease – a sloppy kind of
porridge made from peas. There were also more unusual
items on the menu such as essence of malt which was
carried as a remedy for scurvy. Captain Arthur Phillip
took great care to look after the convicts under his
command with the result that only about 23 convicts
died. By comparison, on the second fleet conditions were
so bad that more than 200 convicts died.
A wealth of primary sources exist on the First Fleet and
the first years of the penal colony. In the 18th century
it was standard practice for officers, as well as many
ordinary private people, to keep a daily account of what
they were doing. Accounts like those of Lieutenant
Philip Gidley King, one of the senior officers, were very
formal and recorded mostly official events and weather.
The journal of Ralph Clark, on the other hand, is a very
personal account in which he records his opinions.
Because of the interest generated by the voyage of the
convict fleet to Botany Bay, there were also a number
of people who published accounts of the voyage and
the early days of the colony. Several First Fleet officers
published accounts of the establishment of the colony.
❏ For more interactive activities go to
news.com.au/ttn
Did you know?
Sleek Geeks
■ Six children were born to convicts during the voyage.
Only four survived.
■ Among the supplies taken to establish the colony
were one portable canvas house for the future
governor, 5448 squares of Crown Grass, one piano,
several greyhounds owned by Arthur Phillip and
300 gallons of brandy.
■ The Sirius was originally named the Berwick.
■ Many convicts were subject to severe
punishments on the voyage. Women convicts
aboard the Lady Penrhyn, for instance, were
punished with flogging, being placed in heavy
iron fetters or having their hair cut off.
■ Most of the convicts on the First Fleet had never
been to sea and many spent the first part of the
voyage suffering from seasickness.
People of the First Fleet
Figures on the number of people who travelled on the
First Fleet vary according to sources. Of the nearly
1500 people aboard the First Fleet, 759 were convicts,
191 female convicts. The number of marines totalled
246, with 32 wives and 15 children. The ships were
manned by about 200 officers and men of the Royal
Navy and 233 merchant seamen.
next day at Day light
‘ The
the English colours were
Places to visit
■ Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Macquarie St, City;
8239 2311, hht.net.au/museums/hyde_park_barracks_
museum
■ Museum of Sydney, Bridge St, City; 9251 5988,
hht.net.au/museums/museum_of_sydney
■ Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour;
9298 3777, anmm.gov.au
Contact Classmate at [email protected] or phone 9288 2542
Fascinating journals
To read journals letters and other writings on the First
Fleet see www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/
history_nation/terra_australis/index.html
The expense and the consequences of sending an
expedition to establish a penal colony was hotly debated in
England. Many people applauded the decision to end
the suffering of convicts living in crowded prisons and
aboard rotting ships known as hulks moored on the
Thames. Some complained the cost and its effects
would far outweigh the benefits. One Tory politician
said in Parliament: “I beg leave to ask the advocates
of colonisation whether the consequences of sending
people to America were not eventually ruinous? And
whether we have any rational prospect of more gratitude
from the posterity of the transports that are about to settle
in Botany Bay.” After a short time, it was realised that
the new colony would return many benefits to the mother
country. In 1791, prime minister William Pitt stated that “no
cheaper mode of disposing of convicts could be found”.
The government found that not only did the colonies of the
southern continent remain loyal, but that many economic
benefits were returned to England. The transportation of
convicts to Australia would continue until 1868.
’
30—THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, www.dailytelegraph.com.au Tuesday, August 19, 2008—30
1788
Hang the expense
— Arthur Bowes, surgeon aboard the Lady Penrhyn
Visit our website at www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/classmate
May 13: The First Fleet ships leave Portsmouth
June 3: The fleet reaches the Canary Islands and
docks at the port of Santa Cruz on Tenerife
June 10: The ships leave Tenerife
July 14: The fleet crosses the equator
August 6: The convoy anchors at the port of Rio de Janeiro
where it takes on supplies, including seeds and plants
September 4: The fleet leaves Rio
October 13: The Cape of Good Hope at
the bottom of Africa is sighted
October 14: The ships anchor at Table Bay, Cape
Town, South Africa, where they take on livestock
November 12: The fleet leaves Table Bay
November 25: Finding some ships are travelling
too slow, commander Arthur Phillip divides the fleet
and he later sails on ahead aboard HMS Supply
January 3: The coast of Van Diemens Land is sighted
displayed on shore and
possession was taken for
His Majesty whose health,
with the Queens, Prince
of Wales & Success to the
Colony was drank
’
— The journal of Philip Gidley King
Find out more
Sources and further study:
The Commonwealth Of Thieves by Tom Keneally
(Random House)
Australia: A Concise Political And Social History by
F.G. Clarke (Oxford)
Convicted! by Anna Clark, illustrated by Kate Cawley
(Hardie Grant)
Australia’s Convicts: Life At Sea by Wendy McDonald
(Macmillan)
Bound For Botany Bay by Alan Brooke and David
Brandon (The National Archives)
State Library of NSW www.sl.nsw.gov.au
Editor: TROY LENNON Graphics: PAUL LEIGH
Series 8
While the eyes of the world were on
the Olympic Opening Ceremony in
Beijing, a war broke out between
Russia and Georgia. Within Georgia
there are two pro-Russian enclaves —
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. An
enclave is a territory which has
geographical boundaries entirely
within the boundaries of another
territory. South Ossetia and
Abkhazia both lie within Georgia.
As the Olympics began, Georgia
launched a surprise operation to seize
control of South Ossetia. This
angered Russia, which sent its
military into South Ossetia and
Abkhazia and bombed Georgia. This
prompted Georgian forces to pull out
of a number of battlefronts fearing a
full-scale invasion. More than 2000
civilians are estimated to have died in
the conflict and thousands more fled
their homes, many taking shelter in
Russia. Russia says its motivation to
fight has been to protect its civilians
who live in South Ossetia and
Abkhazia. A secondary concern is
energy, because Georgia is a major
conduit for oil flowing from Russia
and Central Asia to the West.
Question for discussion: Look at
newspaper pictures of the fighting.
What effect does it have on the
people of the area?
Activity: Find out more about this
territory — lonelyplanet.com/
worldguide/georgia
EVERY TUESDAY
It’s that time of year when young
science enthusiasts take part in the
Eureka Sleek Geeks science awards.
Hundreds of students from across
Australia put their storytelling skills
to the test. The entrants were
required to make a short film which
explained a scientific theory. One
group of finalists were chosen for
their film Fractious Friction .
They told the story of a curious
student, Tom, who wonders what the
world would be like without friction.
The use of stop-motion filming
seriously impressed the judges.
Another group of finalists used
their acting skills to create a dramatic
representation of how the brain
sends messages to the body. They
also explored the link between a
baby’s first steps, walking in high
heels and having a stroke.
Question for discussion: What topic
would you choose if you could make a
short film to explain a scientific fact.
Activity: Watch all the finalists at
www.science.usyd.edu.au/outreach/
eureka/index.shtml
Romanian bear kills
A 20-year-old man has been killed by a
bear foraging for food in downtown
Brasov, central Romania. He was one
of several who have been killed or
injured by the bears, who often
wander the town to find food.
Brasov is a 60,000-year-old
community, 176km from Romania’s
capital Bucharest. Romania is one of
the last countries in Europe with a
large bear population. Their numbers
soared in Communist times because
of a hunting ban imposed by the
former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
From 1965 to 1989, only he and his
friends were allowed to hunt them.
Now there’s a population of about
6000 but they’re in trouble. Since the
late 1970s, the bears have ventured
down from the surrounding hills to
eat their way through bags of
domestic garbage. Nicknamed
binman bears, they’ve become a
tourist attraction. The community
has attempted to bear-proof the bins,
but the animals simply tear the bins
apart. The Government has tried
exporting the bears, but because
they’re binman bears, other countries
don’t want them. Now they’re
working to relocate the protected
species to areas where they’ll find
food that is not rubbish.
Question for discussion: Is it cruel
to urbanise wild animals?
Activity: Learn about the Romanian
bear sanctuary at wspa.org.au/
campaigns.asp?campaignType=10
What else is on
Whale nursery; Pass Australia;
Olympic news; what the papers are
saying and all the most up-to-date
news of the day. Topic on the website
and video is synchronised swimming.
39—THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, www.dailytelegraph.com.au Tuesday, August 19, 2008—39