The First Fleet: The Real Story“Alan Frost is the myth-buster of Australian history...His work should be studied not only by students but anyone interested in the birth of a nation.” — the Age In 1787 a convoy of eleven ships, carrying about 1400 people, set out from England for Botany Bay. According to the conventional account, it was a shambolic affair: under-prepared, poorly equipped and ill-disciplined. Robert Hughes condemned the organisers’ “muddle and lack of foresight”, while Manning Clark described scenes of “indescribable misery and confusion”. In The First Fleet: The Real Story, Alan Frost draws on previously forgotten records to debunk these persistent myths. He shows that the voyage was in fact meticulously planned – reflecting its importance to the British government’s secret ambitions for imperial expansion. He examines the ships and supplies, passengers and behind-the-scenes discussions. In the process, he reveals the hopes and schemes of those who planned the voyage, and the experiences of those who made it. ‘It is almost certain that Frost knows more than anybody else about the early maritime history of this land ... This book will surely alter the way Sydney sees its history.’ — Geoffrey Blainey, The Weekend Australian |
From inside the book
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Page ix
... should have been a month at sea one of the transports would have been converted into a hospital ship. —David Collins, An Account ofthe English Colony in New South Wales, 1798 The Voyage ofthe First Fleet.
... should have been a month at sea one of the transports would have been converted into a hospital ship. —David Collins, An Account ofthe English Colony in New South Wales, 1798 The Voyage ofthe First Fleet.
Page xi
Surprising as it is, this is the first extended study ofthe mounting of the First Fleet that carried the officials, marines and convicts who began the British colonization of New South Wales in 1788. It is based on some 2000 documents ...
Surprising as it is, this is the first extended study ofthe mounting of the First Fleet that carried the officials, marines and convicts who began the British colonization of New South Wales in 1788. It is based on some 2000 documents ...
Page 2
... essential ... to the satisfactory despatch of the Fleet and its successful transportation of its passengers and their settlement on arrival in New South Wales rested more [than with Phillip] with an ill-chosen, ill-organized, ...
... essential ... to the satisfactory despatch of the Fleet and its successful transportation of its passengers and their settlement on arrival in New South Wales rested more [than with Phillip] with an ill-chosen, ill-organized, ...
Page 6
However, while Phillip wrote many letters from New South Wales to Sydney, Nepean and Banks, and at least one to Lansdowne, none is known to Pitt, Carmarthen, Hawkesbury or Rose. Campbell's idea was a will-o'-the-wisp, which should never ...
However, while Phillip wrote many letters from New South Wales to Sydney, Nepean and Banks, and at least one to Lansdowne, none is known to Pitt, Carmarthen, Hawkesbury or Rose. Campbell's idea was a will-o'-the-wisp, which should never ...
Page 7
... Rose about the business, Newton Fowell's mother wrote to Evan Nepean, asking that the young man, who had just obtained his lieutenant's passing certificate, be appointed to one of the Royal Navy ships going out to New South Wales.
... Rose about the business, Newton Fowell's mother wrote to Evan Nepean, asking that the young man, who had just obtained his lieutenant's passing certificate, be appointed to one of the Royal Navy ships going out to New South Wales.
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The First Fleet
User Review - Thorpe-Bowker and Contributors - Books+PublishingThe First Fleet: The Real Story is a companion volume to Alan Frost¿s earlier book, Botany Bay: The Real Story. It deals with the same subject as David Hill¿s 1788, but unlike Hill, Frost is an ... Read full review
Contents
17 | |
27 | |
Officials and Officers | 49 |
Ships Crews Marines Convicts | 64 |
The Ships | 81 |
Equipping the Colonists | 95 |
Loading the Ships and Embarking the People | 114 |
AtPortsmouth | 129 |
Preparing Bodiesfor the Voyage | 140 |
Leaving the World | 159 |
No CheaperMode? | 181 |
Conclusion | 198 |
Acknowledgments | 217 |
Select Bibliography | 250 |
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Common terms and phrases
24 October 28 February administration’s Admiralty advised Alexander appointed April arrival Arthur Phillip asked August Botany Bay Campbell Cape Chronicle clothing Collins colonists colony’s command commission cost court crew December Deptford Officers embarked England establishment Evan Nepean expedition expense February female convicts Fleet fresh foods governor Home Office HRNSW Hunter Island January Lady Penrhyn land Lieutenant London March marine officers marines and convicts Memorandum Middleton to Nepean Minute naval Navy Board necessary needed Nepean to Middleton November Ocean Officers to Navy ofthe Phillip to Nepean Phillip to Sydney Pitt administration Plymouth port Portsmouth Privy Council provisions Real Story Record group Rio de Janeiro Ross Royal Navy sailed Scarborough scurvy sent September 1786 settlement ship’s ships Shortland sick Sirius Sirius and Supply SLNSW South Wales Steele surgeon Teer to Navy Tench Tenerife told Treasury USNA Victualling voyage wine women wrote