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 19
... commission usually allowed. When my Lords have the particulars ofthe surgeon's instruments, medicines and necessaries for the sick, they will direct the same to be provided under the inspection of the Commissioners for the Sick and Hurt ...
... commission usually allowed. When my Lords have the particulars ofthe surgeon's instruments, medicines and necessaries for the sick, they will direct the same to be provided under the inspection of the Commissioners for the Sick and Hurt ...
Page 35
... commissions of the governor and the colony's other officials (lieutenant-governor, deputy judge-advocate, clergyman, surgeon and assistant surgeon), issued on 12 and 24 October 1786, enjoined them to obey orders 'according to the rules ...
... commissions of the governor and the colony's other officials (lieutenant-governor, deputy judge-advocate, clergyman, surgeon and assistant surgeon), issued on 12 and 24 October 1786, enjoined them to obey orders 'according to the rules ...
Page 36
... commission and instructions to the governor of Senegambia will apply to the settlement at Botany Bay, and the charter for erecting a court of criminal jurisdiction at Gibraltar appears exceptionable, though perhaps not so much so as the ...
... commission and instructions to the governor of Senegambia will apply to the settlement at Botany Bay, and the charter for erecting a court of criminal jurisdiction at Gibraltar appears exceptionable, though perhaps not so much so as the ...
Page 39
... commission for the trial ofpirates On 26 March 1787, clearly mindful of the potential for escaped convicts to turn pirates, the Home Office advised the Admiralty that the governor of the Botany Bay colony should be given 'such powers as ...
... commission for the trial ofpirates On 26 March 1787, clearly mindful of the potential for escaped convicts to turn pirates, the Home Office advised the Admiralty that the governor of the Botany Bay colony should be given 'such powers as ...
Page 40
The Real Story Alan Frost. The governor's civil commission Once the decision to provide the colony with civil rather than military law had been taken, a different commission for its governor was required. The Privy Council drafted this ...
The Real Story Alan Frost. The governor's civil commission Once the decision to provide the colony with civil rather than military law had been taken, a different commission for its governor was required. The Privy Council drafted this ...
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