jan 1, 1844 - The First Fleet arrived

Description:

The First Fleet of 11 ships, each one no larger than a Manly ferry, left Portsmouth in 1787 with more than 1480 men, women and children onboard. The boats were extremely crowded and many people were packed onto the ships for three months. Although most were British, there were also African, American and French convicts. After a voyage of three months, the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay on 24 January 1788. Here the Aboriginal people, who had lived in isolation for 40,000 years, met the British in an uneasy stand-off at what is now known as Frenchmans Beach at La Perouse. The British only brought the convicts to Australia as the prisons in Great Britain were over-crowded.

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