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 88
Page 11
... ships; and to maintain an army of workmen, not only at the major home yards of the Thames, Portsmouth and Plymouth, but also those at New York and Charleston, Jamaica and Antigua, and Gibraltar. The meeting of all these needs gave rise ...
... ships; and to maintain an army of workmen, not only at the major home yards of the Thames, Portsmouth and Plymouth, but also those at New York and Charleston, Jamaica and Antigua, and Gibraltar. The meeting of all these needs gave rise ...
Page 12
... ships, Middleton told him, 'I trust and hope that when any business of this kind is agitated again, that I may have some notice ofit before it is sent officially'; and in March 1787, when Phillip was insistent, both that the convicts on ...
... ships, Middleton told him, 'I trust and hope that when any business of this kind is agitated again, that I may have some notice ofit before it is sent officially'; and in March 1787, when Phillip was insistent, both that the convicts on ...
Page 13
... ships and fitting them out. Similarly, the marine officers who sailed on the ships had no notion of Phillip's instructions, nor of private understandings he had been given about the colony's purposes. The documentary record I have ...
... ships and fitting them out. Similarly, the marine officers who sailed on the ships had no notion of Phillip's instructions, nor of private understandings he had been given about the colony's purposes. The documentary record I have ...
Page 20
... ships, and for providing the provisions, tools and other necessaries for the marines going out and for the convicts ... ship of war of a proper class' and a tender of about 200 tons burden*, both to escort the convoy and 'for other ...
... ships, and for providing the provisions, tools and other necessaries for the marines going out and for the convicts ... ship of war of a proper class' and a tender of about 200 tons burden*, both to escort the convoy and 'for other ...
Page 23
... ships, which may hereafter sail in that quarter of the globe, must receive refreshment in greater plenty that from the exhausted soil of Europe, considering that all New South Wales is formed of a virgin mould, undisturbed since the ...
... ships, which may hereafter sail in that quarter of the globe, must receive refreshment in greater plenty that from the exhausted soil of Europe, considering that all New South Wales is formed of a virgin mould, undisturbed since the ...
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