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.
Illustration by E. Le Bihan, courtesy State Library of New South Wales
On May 13, 1787, a group of about 1,400 people in 11 ships set sail from Portsmouth, England. Their destination was a vaguely described bay in the continent of Australia, newly discovered to Europeans. In a stunning feat of planning and navigation, nearly all of the voyagers survived and arrived in Botany Bay about a year later. Here, they established the first European settlement in Australia.
A wide variety of people made up this legendary “First Fleet.” Military and government officials, along with their wives and children, led the group. Sailors, cooks, masons, and other workers hoped to establish new lives in the new colony.
Perhaps most famously, the First Fleet included more than 700 convicts. The settlement at Botany Bay was intended to be a penal colony. The convicts of the First Fleet included both men and women. Most were British, but a few were American, French, and even African. Their crimes ranged from theft to assault. Most convicts were sentenced to seven years’ “transportation” (the term for the sending of prisoners to a usually far-off penal colony).
The First Fleet departed from Portsmouth, then briefly docked in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. The ships then crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they took on huge stores of food and freshwater. Then the fleet sailed back across the Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa, where they took on even more food, including livestock. The main portion of the journey was across the entire Indian Ocean, from Cape Town to Botany Bay—24,000 kilometers (15,000 miles).
Botany Bay was not as hospitable as the group had hoped. The bay was shallow, there was not a large supply of freshwater, and the land was not fertile. Nearby, however, officers of the First Fleet discovered a beautiful harbor with all those qualities. They named it after the British Home Secretary, Lord Sydney. The day the First Fleet discovered Sydney Harbor is celebrated as Australia’s national holiday, Australia Day.
Noun
body of water partially surrounded by land, usually with a wide mouth to a larger body of water.
cargo
Noun
goods carried by a ship, plane, or other vehicle.
celebrate
Verb
to observe or mark an important event with public and private ceremonies or festivities.
colony
Noun
people and land separated by distance or culture from the government that controls them.
convict
Noun
prisoner or person who has been convicted of a crime.
destination
Noun
place where a person or thing is going.
dock
Verb
to bring and secure a ship or boat to a space or facility.
establish
Verb
to form or officially organize.
feat
Noun
accomplishment or achievement.
fertile
Adjective
able to produce crops or sustain agriculture.
fleet
Noun
group of ships, usually organized for military purposes.
government
Noun
system or order of a nation, state, or other political unit.
holiday
Noun
period of celebration or honor.
hospitable
Adjective
welcoming or inviting.
legendary
Adjective
famous, heroic, or celebrated.
livestock
noun, plural noun
animals raised for sale and profit.
military
Noun
armed forces.
penal
Adjective
having to do with prison or punishment.
portion
Noun
part of a whole.
route
Noun
path or way.
settlement
Noun
community or village.
survive
Verb
to live.
vague
Adjective
unclear.
voyage
Noun
long journey or trip.