jan 24, 1788 - First Fleet arrival in Australia

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Between 1788 and 1850 the English Settlement sent around 162,000 convicts to the Australia border in 806 ships. The first eleven ships are now known as the First Fleet and contained the convicts and marines that are now acknowledged as the Founders of Australia.

Before 1788, Australia was populated by around 300,000 Aboriginal People who had inhabited the world's continents for 10,000 years. The Aboriginal People had seen very few Europeans so It came to quite a lot of shock when they arrived and they never knew it would change their life forever. After arriving in 1770 Captain James Cook had discovered the east coast of New Holland now named as what we know today New South Wales. He sailed the whole length of the coastal line and reported to the British government that he thought it would make a good place for a settlement. Britain kept it a secret that the country as being inhabited By the Indigenous Australians and did not cultivate the land, and were, therefore, "uncivilized".

The First Fleet left England on 13th May 1787 for the 'lands beyond the seas' - Australia, stopping at Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town, where food supplies were replenished. The fleet arrived at Botany Bay between 18th and 20th January 1788. However, They declared the area was to be unsuitable for settlement so they continued moving north arriving at Port Jackson on the Australian East coast on the 26th January 1788 after deciding that Botany Bay was not suited for a settlement due to its lack of fresh water - even though being recommended by Captain James Cook in 1770 as a possible location for a settlement Botany Bay had other shortcomings as well, it was clear to the ocean, making it very unsafe for the ships and the colony.

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