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
Results 6-10 of 33
Page 35
... colony's other officials (lieutenant-governor, deputy judge-advocate, clergyman, surgeon and assistant surgeon) ... Colony: Society, Law and Governance.
... colony's other officials (lieutenant-governor, deputy judge-advocate, clergyman, surgeon and assistant surgeon) ... Colony: Society, Law and Governance.
Page 39
... colony's governor also vice-admiral of New South Wales, with the commandant of marines one of the viceadmiralty court's judges, the commissary its registrar, and the governor's clerk its marshal. On 30 April, the High Court of Admiralty ...
... colony's governor also vice-admiral of New South Wales, with the commandant of marines one of the viceadmiralty court's judges, the commissary its registrar, and the governor's clerk its marshal. On 30 April, the High Court of Admiralty ...
Page 41
... colony's Great Seal. Subsequent commissions and instructions It was some years before the Pitt administration issued all the ancillary commissions and instruments needed to underwrite the wide-ranging powers it gave to the Botany Bay ...
... colony's Great Seal. Subsequent commissions and instructions It was some years before the Pitt administration issued all the ancillary commissions and instruments needed to underwrite the wide-ranging powers it gave to the Botany Bay ...
Page 42
... colony's seal comprised: One one side: Convicts landed at Botany Bay, their fetters taken off and received by ... colony was money – its governor remarked wistfully in 1788, * 'Thus Etruria grew strong'; 'Seal of New South Wales'. 'this ...
... colony's seal comprised: One one side: Convicts landed at Botany Bay, their fetters taken off and received by ... colony was money – its governor remarked wistfully in 1788, * 'Thus Etruria grew strong'; 'Seal of New South Wales'. 'this ...
Page 43
... colony a greater resource in time of war. Although they did not have a currency available, the colony's officials were not entirely without the means of purchasing goods. The governor and the commissary of stores were authorized to ...
... colony a greater resource in time of war. Although they did not have a currency available, the colony's officials were not entirely without the means of purchasing goods. The governor and the commissary of stores were authorized to ...
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