First Fleet
The
First Fleet was the
fleet of
sailing ships that brought the original settlers and convicts to
Australia from
England. Captain
Arthur Phillip led the fleet out of
Portsmouth,
England on
May 13,
1787, with eleven ships full of convicts to establish a
penal colony in
Australia. On
January 26,
1788, they established the first
European settlement on the continent at
Sydney Cove (now
Sydney) in
Port Jackson after Phillip decided that
Botany Bay was not suitable for settlement due to a lack of fresh water. The first fleet consisted of the following ships:
- H.M.S. Supply
- H.M.S. Sirius
- The Alexander
- The Borrowdale
- The Charlotte
- The Fishburn
- The Friendship
- The Golden Grove
- The Lady Penrhyn
- The Prince Of Wales
- The Scarborough.
See also: History of Australia.
