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First Fleet Arrives
The First Fleet of 11 ships, led by Governor Arthur Phillip, departed from Great Britain for Australia to begin European colonisation. -
Governer Aurthur Phillip sights land
The First Fleet of 11 ships, led by Governor Arthur Phillip, departed from Great Britain for Australia to begin European colonisation. -
Contact with Aborigines
At 2.15 pm the brig HMS Supply anchored on the northern side of Botany Bay. He began exploring the surrounding countryside and made contact with the Aborigines. -
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Fleets Arrive
Australia starts to get colonized by British. -
Finding A Different Site
Deciding that Botany Bay was unsuitable for settlement, Captain Arthur Phillip set out with a party in three open boats to seek out another site. He later reported to Lord Sydney, British Secretary of State; "We got into Port Jackson early in the Afternoon, and had the satisfaction of finding the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand Sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security." He selected a cove with a stream and named it Sydney Cove. -
Convicts Help
Convicts disembarked at Sydney Cove and helped clear the ground. -
Women and Children and Livestock
17 Wives of marines and 14 children disembarked from the Prince of Wales. They were the first women and children to land. The first of the livestock was brought ashore. -
Rioting
The women convicts came ashore. There followed a ‘scene of debauchery and riot’, accompanied by a violent thunderstorm. -
Stealing Bread
At the first criminal court, Samuel Barnsley was sentenced to 150 lashes for assault and Thomas Hill to confinement in irons on a small rocky island at the head of the cove for stealing bread. -
First execution
Thomas Barratt was hanged for stealing in stores, the first execution. -
Second Fleet Arrives
5 of 6 ships of the beleaguered Second Fleet arrived. The colony was gripped by a food crisis. -
All Fleets Arrive
The first ship of the Third Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove.