First Fleet
The First Fleet was the 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787 to found the 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 betwee…
What was the First Fleet?
The First Fleet was the 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia.
When did the First Fleet arrive at Port Jackson?
The First Fleet entering Port Jackson on 26 January 1788 by Edmund Le Bihan. The First Fleet was the 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia.
Where did the First Fleet land in Australia?
The French, who stayed at Botany Bay until March 10, fired upon Aborigines in February. On January 26, the First Fleet headed to Port Jackson, landing at a spot Phillip called Sydney Cove after Lord Sydney, the British Home Secretary.
Is the settlement of Australia an invasion?
In 2011 the City of Sydney officially declared the settlement of Australia an invasion. The word was to be included in the Aboriginal statement for the council's 10 year corporate plan. But a poll of more than 2,000 readers of the Daily Telegraph found that less than 15% agreed with the council's decision.
What kind of event was the First Fleet?
Australia's "First Fleet" was a group of 11 ships and about 1,400 people who established the first European settlements in Botany Bay and Sydney. On May 13, 1787, a group of over 1,400 people in 11 ships set sail from Portsmouth, England.
Where was the First Fleet settlement?
SydneyThe first settlement, at Sydney, consisted of about 850 convicts and their Marine guards and officers, led by Governor Arthur Phillip. They arrived at Botany Bay in the "First Fleet" of 9 transport ships accompanied by 2 small warships, in January, 1788.
What was the purpose of the First Fleet?
The First Fleet, consisting of 11 vessels, was the largest single contingent of ships to sail into the Pacific Ocean. Its purpose was to find a convict settlement on the east coast of Australia, at Botany Bay.
When did the First Fleet invade?
Cook was followed soon enough by the arrival of the First Fleet, in January of 1788, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, whose mission was to establish a penal colony and take control of Terra Australia for settlement.
Who was the youngest convict on the First Fleet?
John Hudson, described as 'sometimes a chimney sweeper', was the youngest known convict to sail with the First Fleet. Voyaging on board the Friendship to NSW, the boy thief was 13 years old on arrival at Sydney Cove. He was only nine when first sentenced.
Who found Australia first?
James Cook was the first recorded explorer to land on the east coast in 1770. He had with him maps showing the north, west and south coasts based on the earlier Dutch exploration.
How many babies were born on the First Fleet?
Convict transport It is estimated there were about 50 children on the First Fleet when it arrived at Botany Bay. Over 20 children were born at sea during the eight-month voyage.
What happened to the children on the First Fleet?
Narrator: In 1788 the first fleet carried just a few child convicts who were mainly convicted for theft. But thousands more child convicts were sent on the ships that left for New South Wales over the next 60 years. Child convicts on the transport ships suffered the same terrible conditions as the adults.
What did the First Fleet Call Australia?
From Portsmouth the First Fleet travelled via Tenerife and Rio de Janeiro to the Cape of Good Hope, the fleet's last port of call before striking out for Terra Australis.
Has Australia ever been invaded?
Australia's history is different from that of many other nations in that since the first coming of the Europeans and their dispossession of the Aboriginals, Australia has not experienced a subsequent invasion; no war has since been fought on Australian soil. Yet Australians have fought in ten wars.
Who invaded Australia first?
The first known landing in Australia by Europeans was in 1606 by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through, and navigated, what is now called Torres Strait and associated islands.
Was Australia invaded?
Should we remember January 26 1788 as “Invasion Day”? The colonisation of Australia was an invasion from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective.
What was the route of the first fleet?
The voyage would take the "First Fleet" under Captain Arthur Phillip via Tenerife (Canary Islands), the port of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Table Bay at the southern extremity of the African continent and the southernmost cape of present-day Tasmania to their destination of Botany Bay.
How many babies were born on the first fleet?
Convict transport It is estimated there were about 50 children on the First Fleet when it arrived at Botany Bay. Over 20 children were born at sea during the eight-month voyage.
Where did the first fleet stop?
The First Fleet left Portsmouth, England on 13 May 1787. The entire journey took 252 days (a little over 8 months). From England, the fleet sailed to Australia making stops in Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town. They arrived in Botany Bay in mid-January 1788.
How many died on First Fleet?
The eleven ships which arrived on 26 January 1788 are known as the First Fleet. They carried around 1400 convicts, soldiers and free people. The journey from England to Australia took 252 days and there were around 48 deaths on the voyage.
How many ships were in the first fleet?
Research the sorts of people who travelled on the 11 ships that made up the First Fleet. How many convicts (male and female), free settlers, crew, marines, officials and children were on board?
How did the arrival of the First Fleet affect the Eora Nation?
The arrival of the First Fleet immediately affected the Eora nation, the traditional Aboriginal owners of the Sydney area. Violence between settlers and the Eora people started as soon as the colony was set up. The Eora people, particularly the warrior Pemulwuy, fought the colonisers.
How did convict settlement affect Aboriginal people?
Convict settlement continued to have devastating effects on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the decades after 1788. Thousands died in conflicts with settlers and from diseases, and many more suffered from the loss of cultural traditions and languages.
When did the first convicts arrive in Australia?
Their arrival changed forever the lives of the Eora people, the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land in the Sydney area, and began waves of convict transportation that lasted until 1868.
Why did the first crops fail in the colony?
Almost straight away, the new colony faced starvation. The first crops failed because of the lack of skilled farmers, spoilt seed brought from England, poor local soils, an unfamiliar climate and bad tools. Phillip insisted that food be shared between convicts and free settlers. The British Officers didn’t like this, nor the fact that Phillip gave land to trustworthy convicts. But both actions meant that the colony survived, and they began an attitude of fairness that is still prized in Australia today.
Where did the convicts come from?
Convicts who were transported were usually poor, often from the large industrial cities and were mostly from England (with a large minority from Ireland and Scotland). The First Fleet of 11 ships, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, set up a convict settlement at Sydney Cove (now Circular Quay) on 26 January 1788.
Why did the British use transportation to distant lands?
Britain used transportation to distant lands as a way of getting rid of prisoners. After Britain lost its American colonies in 1783 the jails of England were full. The British decided to begin transporting prisoners to Australia, which had recently been claimed for the British Crown by Lieutenant James Cook.
When did Sydney declare invasion?
In 2011 the City of Sydney officially declared the settlement of Australia an invasion. The word was to be included in the Aboriginal statement for the council's 10 year corporate plan. But a poll of more than 2,000 readers of the Daily Telegraph found that less than 15% agreed with the council's decision. More than 85% rejected it. [5]
What happened to the Aboriginal people in Australia?
Remember also that Australia's history is littered with reports of massacres on Aboriginal people, and that there were frontier wars which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Aboriginal people. These events seem to be incompatible with settlement, a term usually associated with peaceful undertaking.
Was the settlement of the British peaceful?
The settlement of the British was not peaceful, and is increasingly accepted as being a countrywide invasion.
Was Australia settled peacefully?
It goes on to say that "Australia was not settled peacefully, it was invaded, occupied and colonised. Describing the arrival of the Europeans as a 'settlement' attempts to view Australian history from the shores of England rather than the shores of Australia.". [6]
Did Queensland schools tell the truth about the way Australia was settled?
But there was also powerful support. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk admitted that "for many years, Australian schools and Australian institutions have not told the truth about the way in which Australia was settled. A lot of Indigenous people lost their lives—there were massacres and the truth always must be told." [8]
Where did Aboriginal people meet the fleet?
According to the NSW Migration Heritage Centre, the local Aboriginal people met the fleet in an 'uneasy stand-off' at what is now called Frenchmans Beach at La Perouse. No violence occurred.
When did the first white settlements start?
Some Australians are debating whether Friday is 'Australia Day' or 'Invasion Day' . The First Fleet landed at Sydney Cove in New South Wales on January 26, 1788.
What were Phillip's instructions regarding Aborigines?
Phillip's instructions regarding Aborigines were that he would 'conciliate their affections', to 'live in amity and kindness with them.'
What was the name of the port where a thousand sails of the line may ride in the most perfect security?
He entered Port Jackson, which he later described in a letter as 'the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security…'
Where were the two ships that led the expedition seen?
On January 24, two French ships from the scientific expedition led by Jean-François de La Pérouse were seen just outside Botany Bay.
Who said Phillip and the officers were genuinely committed to establishing and maintaining friendly and peaceful relations?
Writing in the Dictionary of Sydney, historian Grace Karskens said: 'Phillip and the officers were genuinely committed to establishing and maintaining friendly and peaceful relations.'
Was there a violent confrontation on Australia Day?
But there was no violent confrontation on that first Australia Day.
Overview
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, with over 1400 people (convicts, marines, sailors, civil officers and free settlers), left from Portsmouth, England and took a journey of o…
History
Lord Sandwich, together with the President of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks, the eminent scientist who had accompanied Lieutenant James Cook on his 1770 voyage, was advocating establishment of a British colony in Botany Bay, New South Wales. Banks accepted an offer of assistance from the American Loyalist James Matra in July 1783. Under Banks's guidance, he rapidly produced "A Proposal for Establishing a Settlement in New South Wales" (24 August 178…
Ships
On 25 October 1786 the 20 gun HMS Sirius, lying in the dock at Deptford, was commissioned, and the command given to Phillip. The armed tender HMS Supply under command of Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball was also commissioned to join the expedition. On 15 December, Captain John Hunter was assigned as second captain to Sirius to command in the absence of Phillip, whose presence, it was to be supposed, would be requisite at all times wherever the seat of government in that co…
People
The majority of the people travelling with the fleet were convicts, all having been tried and convicted in Great Britain, almost all of them in England. Many are known to have come to England from other parts of Great Britain and, especially, from Ireland; at least 14 are known to have come from the British colonies in North America; 12 are identified as black (born in Britain, Africa, the West Indies, North America, India or a European country or its colony). The convicts had commit…
Voyage
In September 1786 Captain Arthur Phillip was chosen to lead the expedition to establish a colony in New South Wales. On 15 December, Captain John Hunter, was appointed Phillip’s second. By now HMS Sirius had been nominated as flagship, with Hunter holding command. The armed tender HMS Supply under command of Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball had also joined the fleet.
Legacy
On Sat 26 January 1842 The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser reported "The Government has ordered a pension of one shilling per diem to be paid to the survivors of those who came by the first vessel into the Colony. The number of these really 'old hands' is now reduced to three, of whom, two are now in the Benevolent Asylum, and the other is a fine hale old fellow, who can …
See also
• Australian frontier wars
• Convicts in Australia
• Convict women in Australia
• European exploration of Australia
Further reading
• Gillen, Mollie (1985). The Search for John Small, First Fleeter. Sydney: Library of Australian History. ISBN 978-0908120581.
• Phillip, Arthur; Currey, John, 1940–; Banks Society (2010), The voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay : compiled from authentic papers, Banks Society, ISBN 978-0-949586-19-3{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)