First Fleet Ships
At the time of the First Fleet’s voyage there were some 12,000 British commercial and naval ships plying the world’s oceans.
The fleet of 11 ships that made its way to Botany Bay was comparatively small given the nature of its mission. The establishment of a new penal colony on the remote coast of New Holland would provide relief for Britain’s crowded prisons and stake a strategic claim in the Pacific ahead of Britain’s rivals.
At dawn on 13 May 1787 HMS Sirius gave the signal to weigh anchor and the First Fleet embarked. The convoy consisted of two naval ships, six convict transports and three storeships to carry the food and supplies necessary for establishing a settlement. Crowded on board were some 1500 people – marines, officers, seamen, their wives and children and at least 775 prisoners of the Crown. The departing convicts fretted over ‘the impracticability of returning home, the dread of a sickly passage, and the fearful prospect of a distant and barbarous country’ (Watkin Tench, 1789). They were unwilling participants in this colonial enterprise.
Altogether they formed a little squadron of eleven sail
Arthur Phillip, first governor of New South Wales, 1789
At journey’s end, eight months and one week later, the successful arrival of the First Fleet in Botany Bay was cause for celebration. Travelling on the Supply, Governor Phillip arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January, closely followed by the rest of the Fleet which arrived over the next two days. Phillip wasted no time in judging Botany Bay an unsuitable location and on the 26 January the Fleet departed Botany Bay for Port Jackson - present-day Sydney. But to the Aboriginal peoples looking on, the arrival of the ships marked the beginning of an invasion that would catastrophically affect their lives.
The ships
The voyage
The First Fleet voyage took between 250 and 252 days to complete, with 68 of these days spent anchored in ports en route. While the ships were being repaired and loaded with fresh water and supplies, the officers and marines went onshore to explore the exotic towns and purchase goods for their private use. Some of these men wrote of their experiences; their journals and letters giving us glimpses into this extraordinary voyage.
First Fleet Ships
Voyage
The First Fleet voyage took between 250 and 252 days to complete, with 68 of these days spent anchored in ports en route
The people
First Fleet Ships
Ambition and adventure: the early life of Arthur Phillip
We looked back at the early life of Phillip, who had enjoyed an extraordinary career before he even set foot on a boat bound for Botany Bay
First Fleet Ships
David Collins
As secretary to the governor and judge advocate for all legal affairs, he was witness to some of the most important events of the new settlement
First Fleet Ships
Jacob Nagle
Twenty-five-year-old Able Seaman Jacob Nagle travelled to Australia on board HMS Sirius as a member of the ship’s crew
First Fleet Ships
James Ruse
Ex-convict James Ruse became the first person in NSW to receive a land grant when Governor Phillip gave him 30 acres at Parramatta in April 1791
First Fleet Ships
Jane Scott and daughter Elizabeth
Around 32 marine wives and 24 of their children made the journey, including Jane Scott, the wife of Sergeant James Scott
First Fleet Ships
John ‘Black Caesar’
Convict John ‘Black’ Caesar became Australia’s first bushranger when he fled the settlement in December 1795 and led a gang of fellow escapees in the bush surrounding Port Jackson
First Fleet Ships
John Easty
Private John Easty was one of 213 marines selected for a term of three years’ service in the colony
First Fleet Ships
John Hudson
Described as ‘sometimes a chimney sweeper’, John Hudson was the youngest known convict to sail with the First Fleet
First Fleet Ships
John White
The tireless concern of Chief Surgeon John White and his assistants on board the 11 First Fleet ships was crucial to the ultimate success of the long voyage
First Fleet Ships
Mary Bryant
Mary Bryant was the first convict to successfully escape the colony of New South Wales and return to Britain
First Fleet Ships
Richard Johnson
Reverend Richard Johnson accompanied the First Fleet to provide moral guidance to the inhabitants of the fledgling colony
Related
Permanent display
First Fleet Ships
This display explores the journey, arrival and first contacts of this fleet’s largely unwilling human cargo
Sunday 1 January
Convict hulks
In the 21st century we are accustomed to thinking of imprisonment as one of the more obvious forms of punishment for convicted criminals. This was not so in the past
Convict Sydney
Convict Sydney
Convict Sydney
From a struggling convict encampment to a thriving Pacific seaport, a city takes shape
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