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The First Fleet

The First Fleet of ships to carry convicts from England to Botany Bay sailed from Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787. It arrived at Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. When that place proved unsuitable for a settlement the fleet made its way a short distance up the coast and on 25 January 1788 entered what is now known as Sydney Harbour and anchored in Sydney Cove.

This page contains statistics relating to the people who made the voyage and provides details of the ships of the fleet. It also provides references for further inquiry, including details of several ebooks, which are held by Project Gutenberg Australia or Project Gutenberg, which provide first hand accounts of the voyage and describe the first efforts to establish the colony. 

Contents of this page Books about the First Fleet Particulars of the Voyage Ships Some First Fleeters and the positions held by them The numbers Right: The Bicentennial Monument, which commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet and lists the names of those who arrived at Botany Bay in 1788. The monument is at Brighton Le Sands, Sydney, and overlooks Botany Bay.

Books about the First Fleet:

ebooks available from this site:

JOURNALS, BOOKS, LETTERS AND ORATIONS BY PEOPLE ON THE FIRST FLEET (at this site) 

• William BRADLEY (1758-1833), Journal of A Voyage to New South Wales, December 1786 — May 1792; compiled 1802.
  Colin Choat has produced an edited version of Bradley's Voyage as an ebook. Check it out from Colin's listing. Col believes that it is the first easily-readable version of the Journal to be published, and it is FREE OF CHARGE!
• David COLLINS (1754-1810), An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Vol 1 London, 1798.
• David COLLINS (1754-1810), An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Vol 2 London, 1802.
• Richard JOHNSON (c.1756-1827), An Address to the Inhabitants of the Colonies Established at NSW and Norfolk Island
• Arthur PHILLIP (1738-1814), The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island, London, 1789. This book includes the Journals of Lieutenantss Shortland, Watts, Ball and Captain Marshall, with an account of their new discoveries. The book also includes a List of Convicts sent to New South Wales on the First Fleet, in 1787.
• Arthur Bowes SMYTH'S Journal of a Voyage from Portsmouth to New South Wales and China, edited by Colin Choat. Col believes that it is the first easily-readable version of the Journal to be published, and it is FREE OF CHARGE!
• Daniel SOUTHWELL (1764-1797), Journal and Letters of Daniel Southwell. Southwell embarked as a midshipman in the Sirius in 1787 and was made a mate on the voyage to NSW.
• Watkin TENCH (1759-1833), A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay, London, 1789.
• Watkin TENCH (1759-1833), A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson, London, 1793.
• John WHITE (1757-1832), Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales. White was the principal surgeon on the First Fleet.
• George WORGAN (1757-1838), Journal of a First Fleet Surgeon. Worgan was the surgeon of the Sirius.

Also refer to the Wikipedia page, Journals of the First Fleet for details of works by these other First Fleeters who wrote personal accounts:

Journals
Ralph Clark
John Easty
John Hunter
Philip Gidley King
Jacob Nagle
James Scott
Letters
David Blackburn
James Campbell
John Campbell
Newton Fowell
Richard Johnson
Henry Waterhouse
Convict narrative
James Martin

OTHER WORKS ABOUT THE FIRST FLEET (at this site)

• George Burnett BARTON (1836-1901), History of New South Wales from the Records,Vol. I This is a significant resource regarding the First Fleet.
• Gwendoline H SWINBURNE, A Source Book of Australian History (Part II). This ebook contains the text of original documents relating to Phillip's term as Governor of New South Wales.
• Charles WHITE (1845-1922), Early Australian History. Convict Life in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, Parts I & II
• Also refer to the Australian History page for ebooks which cover, in a general way, the early settlement of Australia by Europeans.

External references:

• Charles BATESON, The Convict Ships, 1787-1868, Sydney, 1974.
• Mollie GILLEN, The Founders of Australia: a biographical dictionary of the First Fleet, Sydney, Library of Australian History, 1989. This is the definitve reference regarding those who sailed on the First Fleet and contains a biographical entry for every person. It is held by several local libraries in Sydney and by the State Library of New South Wales.
• Pages at the University of Wollongong web site--personal information about the convicts on the First Fleet .
• The First Fleet Fellowship web site, an historical society formed in 1984 to provide an association for all those people who have ancestors who arrived in Australia in 1788 aboard one of the ships of the First Fleet. Based in Melbourne.
• The Fellowship of First Fleeters. A society formed in 1968 composed of descendants of those who arrived in Sydney Cove in 1788 aboard one of the ships of the First Fleet. Based in Sydney.
• The First Fleet article at Wikipedia.
• Pages at the State Library of New South Wales web site
• The First Fleet and Early Settlement Documents at SETIS
• Convict Transportation Registers Database (Online) at the University of Queensland.

Particulars of the Voyage

Portsmouth to Tenerife
13 May - 3 June 1787

Tenerife to Rio de Jeneiro
10 June 1787 - 5 August 1787

Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town
4 September - 13 October 1787

Cape Town to Botany Bay
13 November 1787 to 20 January 1788

Arrived at Sydney Cove
26 January 1788

The Ships of the First Fleet 

6 Transports carrying the convicts. Each transport had a detachment of marines on board.
Lieutenant John Shortland, agent for the transports. The garrison was formed from the marines. 

Store Ships, with provisions, implements for husbandry, clothing, etc. for the convicts.

Some First Fleeters and the positions held by them

• Augustus Alt, Surveyor
• Thomas Arndell, Assistant Surgeon
• Henry Lidgbird Ball, captain of Supply
• William Balmain, assistant surgeon, later principal surgeon
• Lieutenant William Bradley, author of journal, water colourist
• Henry Brewer, clerk to Phillip, provost marshall, administrator
• Ralph Clark, 2nd Lieutenant , author of journal
• David Collins, Judge Advocate, author
• Dennis Considen, assistant surgeon
• Lieutenant William Dawes, engineer, surveyor, humanitarian
• James Furzer, Quarter-Master
• Henry Hacking, Quartermaster settler, explorer
• John Hunter, captain of Sirius, later 2nd governor of the colony
• Thomas Jamison, surgeon's mate
• Richard Johnson, Chaplain
• Lieutenant George Johnston, later commander of NSW Corps
• Philip Gidley King, 2nd lieutenant, later lieutenant governor of Norfolk Island, and 3rd governor of the colony
• John Long, Adjutant
• Andrew Miller, Commissary
• Captain Arthur Phillip of the Navy, Governor and Commander in Chief of the territory of New South Wales, and of his Majesty's ships and vessels employed on that coast
• George Raper, midshipman, notable illustrator
• Major Robert Ross, Lieutenant Governor and comander of the marines
• Lieut. John Shortland, Agent for the Transports
• Arthur Bowes Smyth, assistant surgeon, author of journal
• Captain Watkin Tench, author
• Private William Tunks, farmer, landowner and member of the NSW Corps
• John White, Principal Surgeon
• George Worgan, Surgeon of the Sirius

The numbers

Gillen, p.445, gives the following statistics:

Gillen notes that "during the voyage there were 22 births (13 males, 9 females), while 69 people either died, were discharged, or deserted (61 males and 8 females). As no complete crew musters have survived for the six transports and three storeships, there may have been as many as 110 more seamen who have not been identified, thus giving approximatelt 1530 people who left England and 1483 who reached Sydney Cove.

Note that there is no definitive list of the people who arrived at Botany Bay in the First Fleet. We will probably never know the exact number and their names.

Updated 28 Aug 2022

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