Happy(?) Australian Day - 26th Jan 1788 Date of landing of First Fleet in Port Jackson. Australia did not start out as those of a new Promised Land after being claimed for Britain by Captain Cook. With the loss of Maryland and Georgia in the American War of Independence, Britain was forced to find another place of exile for its unwanted convicts. The prisoners in Britain were temporarily stuffed into rotting river hulks around London, but these sinks of disease, depravity and escape soon became a source of public outcry. In desperation, the British government took up Sir Joseph Bank’s (remember him, the botanist with Captain Cook?) that Botany Bay in New Holland would be a suitable place for the prisoners. Between 1788 and 1850 the English sent over 162,000 convicts to Australia in 806 ships. The first eleven of these ships are today known as the First Fleet and contained the convicts and marines that are now acknowledged as the Founders of Australia. This is their story. Captain James Cook discovered the east coast of New Holland in 1770 and named it New South Wales. He sailed the whole of the coast and reported to the British government that he thought it would make a good place for a settlement. Britain did not recognise the country as being inhabited as the natives did not cultivate the land, and were, therefore, “uncivilized”. In May 1787, 11 small ships of the “First Fleet” under Captain (later Governor) Arthur Philip sailed from Portsmouth, England. Eight months later (yes, it took that long in those days, mate!), the 1000 passengers – three-quarters of them convicts – arrived at Botany Bay. They sailed up to Port Jackson, and after a few toasts, raised the flag for King George III on 26th January 1788. Officers, marines, transportees, sheeps, goats and cattle were disgorged by these latter day “Noah’s Arks” into a cove (now Sydney Cove) that is now overlooked by the Sydney Opera House.It is said that even the convicts, on sighting the fine blue bays and glistening headlands, raised a cheer of joy.However, it is also noted that two Aborigines nearby shouted “Warra ! Warra !” (Go Away !) but no one heeded – and the land that is to be Australia, and that had been home to the Aborigines isolated for 50,000 years, will be changed forever. The agrarian revolution in Britain, and the population explosion in the cities, resulted in an increase in crime. As the American Revolution meant that no more convicts could be sent there, the only way to overcome the overcrowding in the jails was to establish a penal colony in the land discovered by Captain James Cook. The convicts would be transported, never to return to Britain. With this in mind, the British Government hired 9 ships and set about provisioning them, together with 2 Naval vessels, with enough supplies to keep the 759 convicts, their Marine guards, some with families, and a few civil officers, until they became self-sufficient. The convicts and marines embarked on the ships, which arrived at Portsmouth on 16th March 1787. They then waited on board until the arrival of Captain Arthur Phillip signaled the time for their departure. By the time they departed, some convicts had been aboard these ships for seven months. Very few convicts (23) died during the voyage compared to the later convict fleets. Arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and raising of the Flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip. The First Fleet is the name given to the 11 ships which left Great Britain on 13 May 1787 to found a penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia. The fleet consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports, carrying more than 1,000 convicts, marines and seamen, and a vast quantity of stores. The First Fleet of 11 ships, each one no larger than a Manly ferry, left Portsmouth in 1787 with more than 1480 men, women and children onboard. Although most were British, there were also African, American and French convicts. After a voyage of three months the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay on 24 January 1788. Here the Aboriginal people, who had lived in isolation for 40,000 years, met the British in an uneasy stand off at what is now known as Frenchmans Beach at La Perouse. From the start the settlement was beset with problems. Very few convicts knew how to farm and the soil around Sydney Cove was poor. Instead of Cook’s lush pastures, well watered and fertile ground, suitable for growing all types of foods and providing grazing for cattle, they found a hot, dry, infertile country unsuitable for the small farming necessary to make the settlement self-sufficient. Everyone, from the convicts to Captain Phillip, was on rationed food. The natives were wary and fearful of the settlers, who referred to them as Indians. Some African-American convicts, hoping to be accepted by the natives, escaped but were rejected by them. Other convicts, heeding rumours of other settlements nearby and that China was just over the horizon, also escaped. Those that managed to survive the rigors of the country returned to the colony to further punishment.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 08:15:41 +0000
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