There are 20 known contemporary accounts of the First Fleet made by people sailing in the fleet, including journals (both manuscript and published) and letters. The eleven ships of the fleet, carrying over 1,000 convicts, soldiers and seamen, left England on 13 May 1787 and arrived in Botany Bay between 18 and 20 January 1788 before relocating to Port Jackson to establish the first European settlement in Australia, a penal colony which became Sydney.
At least 12 people on the fleet kept a journal of their experiences, some of which were later published, while others wrote letters home during the voyage or soon after their arrival in Australia. These personal accounts of the voyage were made by people including surgeons, officers, soldiers, ordinary seamen, and Captain Arthur Phillip, who commanded the expedition. Only one known account, that of James Martin, was by a transported convict. Their journals document the day-to-day experiences of those in the fleet, and record significant events including the first contact between the British settlers and the Aboriginal people of the area.
In 2009, the manuscript journals were included in The Australian Memory of the World Register, a regional register associated with the UNESCO international Memory of the World programme.
Journals
Arthur Bowes Smyth
Arthur Bowes Smyth (1750–1790) was a surgeon on board Lady Penrhyn, the transport that carried female convicts on the First Fleet. Smyth was born on 23 August 1750 at Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, England, and was buried there shortly after his return to England on 31 March 1790. Son of Surgeon Thomas Smyth and the seventh of ten children, Arthur Bowes Smyth followed in his father's footsteps practising medicine in his place of birth until appointed "Surgeon to the Ship's Company" aboard Lady Penrhyn in 1787. Bowes Smyth then took charge of the prisoners on the ship when the convicts' surgeon John Turnpenny Altree fell ill at Tenerife and in Governor Arthur Phillip's opinion had proved unequal to the task.
Bowes, as he was known in the colony, kept a journal from 22 March 1787 to 12 August 1789. The journal is a detailed account of the voyage, recording weather observations, events on board, treatment of the sick and descriptions of ports of call en route in particular Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town. His journal is notable for its interest in natural history including descriptions of bird life at Port Jackson and Lord Howe Island on Lady Penrhyn return voyage. The journal contains 25 drawings in watercolour, pen and ink, including the earliest known surviving illustration of the emu by a European. These elements provide a unique account different from the other First Fleet Journals.
His journal is one of the most detailed eyewitness accounts of the first weeks of European settlement of Australia. The journal entries for 18–26 January record first impressions on arrival including interactions with Aboriginal communities and descriptions of the vegetation, intense heat and native wildlife. The convicts and their children who disembarked Lady Penrhyn at Port Jackson are listed. His first journal entry dated 22 March 1787 records the full crew list and the women convicts, their name, age, trade, crime and term of transportation. The list of children born on the voyage contains inaccuracies regarding the sex of the child and dates of birth and death. Lady Penrhyn, under charter to the East India Company to continue her voyage to China for a cargo of tea, departed Port Jackson in early May. His journal continues, recording the return voyage via Lord Howe Island, Tahiti, China, St Helena and finally England. The original journal is now in the collection of the National Library of Australia with a manuscript copy in the British Library and a third manuscript copy held by the State Library of New South Wales.
William Bradley
William Bradley (1757–1833) was a naval officer who sailed in the First Fleet on as first lieutenant. Bradley joined the navy in 1772, and served as a captain's servant, able seaman, midshipman, and master's mate, on H.M.S. Lenox, Aldborough, Mermaid, Rippon, Prothée, Phaeton and Ariadne. Bradley's journal is held by the State Library of New South Wales and begins in 1786 with the organisation of the fleet from Deptford to Portsmouth and Gravesend, describing taking convicts, instruments and supplies on board, and lists some names and numbers of those on board HMS Sirius.
The journal records the voyage to Australia and describes ports, ships passed, the weather, as well as difficulties on board such having insufficient provisions to preserve the cattle on board. Upon arriving in Australia, Bradley recounts his impressions of the colony as well as his interest in Aboriginal people and natural history. In 1789 Bradley describes being one of a party ordered by Governor Arthur Phillip to capture two Aborigines, Colebee and Bennelong by force, calling it "by far the most unpleasant service I ever was order'd to Execute." Bradley's journal contains 29 watercolours inserted between the pages, as well as 22 detailed charts illustrating the voyage to Australia, early survey expeditions in the colony, and further voyages on HMS Sirius. Two days after reaching Port Jackson, Bradley and John Hunter began to survey and chart Sydney Harbour, naming various landmarks including Bradley's Point (now known as Bradleys Head). The earliest known map of Sydney is Bradley's sketch of the encampment in March 1788.
Bradley's journal also documents his journey to Norfolk Island in March 1790. HMS Sirius was wrecked on arrival, and Bradley remained for 11 months undertaking a survey of the island, then travelled back to Port Jackson on Supply. The journal concludes with the return of HMS Sirius crew to England in April 1792 on Waakzaamheid, anchoring at Portsmouth on 23 April.
From 1809, Bradley suffered increasingly from mental disturbances. He was exiled to France after being caught attempting to defraud the postal authorities in 1814, and remained in exile until his death in 1833.
Ralph Clark
Ralph Clark (c. 1755–1794) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 1755 and 1762 and died in the West Indies in 1794. He married Betsy Alicia Trevan in 1784 and their son Ralph Stuart (sic), was born in 1785. He was a Second Lieutenant of Marines with the 6th Company when he served on the convict transport Friendship bound for Botany Bay. He was later promoted to First Lieutenant. The convict transport Friendship was built in Scarborough, England, in 1784 and was 276 tons. It was the smallest of the convict transports and carried 76 male and 21 female convicts with a crew of about 20.
Clark's journal covers the First Fleet voyage and the first few weeks in New South Wales. It is held by the State Library of New South Wales and covers the period from 9 March 1787 to 10 March 1788. It lists all convicts aboard the 'Friendship', including the date when each was received on board, name, trade, crime, sentence, when and where they were tried, county, and place of birth. Clark's journal gives an insight into his view of the convict women who he refers to as "damned whores" and "". His journal is of a very personal nature and makes constant reference to his 'beloved Betsy' and son Ralph, who he greatly missed. Clark's journal has only three entries for March 1787, and no further entries until 13 May 1787. His complete journal also covers later periods and is in four volumes, which includes his visit to Norfolk Island and his voyage on Gorgon returning to England. The four volumes cover the following time periods: 9 March 1787 – 31 December 1787, 1 January 1788 – 10 March 1788, 15 February 1790 – 2 January 1791, and 25 January 1791 – 17 June 1792. His journal and letterbook have also been published, transcribed and digitised.
David Collins
David Collins (1756–1810) was born on 3 March 1756 in London and joined the Royal Marines at the age of 14. He was Judge-Advocate for the military and civil courts in the new colony of New South Wales, and later the first lieutenant-governor of the newly established colony Van Diemen's Land. He served on HMS Sirius. Once he arrived in Sydney, Collins worked as secretary to Governor Phillip. From his arrival in Botany Bay with the First Fleet on 20 January 1788 on board HMS Sirius, Collins was responsible for the Colony's entire legal establishment.
During his time on HMS Sirius and in the colony, he kept a journal which also included his experiences in the settlement at Sydney. In 1797 he returned to London and the following year with the help of his wife Maria, he published his journal entitled An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, a detailed first-hand account of early settlement in Australia. The book's introduction describes the long voyage of the fleet and particularly HMS Sirius to Australia. Collins gives an account of the accompanying ships, their weight and the number of convicts, supplies and crew each carried. He describes an incident on Sunday 20 May 1787, where a mutiny being plotted by some convicts on board Scarborough was discovered. Captain Phillip ordered the two ringleaders be taken on board HMS Sirius, where they were punished with two dozen lashes to each offender. In the introduction Collins also mentions the fleet's passage to Brazil and describes two accidents that took place on that part of the voyage:
The rest of the volume describes life in the early days of the new colony. Collins describes the local Aboriginal people, the Australian environment, events, accidents, crimes, supplies and the weather. It also includes some illustrations and plates. A second volume was published in 1802.
In 1803 he was appointed as lieutenant-governor and commissioned to form a new settlement at Sullivan Bay, Victoria. The location proved to be unsuitable, and Collins received permission to relocate to an existing settlement established at Risdon. He sailed for Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania) on . Critical of the intended site at Risdon, Collins chose Sullivans Cove as a superior location and harbour for Hobart Town. He served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land until he died in 1810.
John Easty
John Easty (fl. 1768?–1793) was a private soldier in the marines. His dates of birth and death are not known. Easty joined the marines no later than January 1784, and was appointed to Captain-Lieutenant Meredith's company on 4 November 1787. He arrived with the First Fleet on Scarborough, the second largest vessel in the First Fleet.
Easty's journal is held by the State Library of New South Wales and he was the lowest ranking author of the surviving journals of the First Fleet. He describes events on the voyage and in the colony in simple, irregular English. Incidents include accidents, crimes and punishments, and encounters with Aboriginal people. In March 1788 he received a flogging for bringing a female convict into the camp. Some of the journal is hearsay or was written later. Most of the events are reported in a matter of fact way, but Easty sometimes expresses his own strong opinions on matters such as the administration of the colony and religious beliefs. On 22 February 1790, he writes that he and a private in the 53rd Regiment, Thomas Brimage, signed and sealed their last wills and testaments to each other.
Easty returned to England on Atlantic in December 1792, with the last detachment of marines to leave Sydney; Arthur Philip also returned home on this voyage. Easty rejoined his division at Portsmouth in May 1793. He left the marines and was employed by Waddington & Smith, grocers, in London in September 1794. In 1796 he petitioned the Admiralty for compensation promised for short rations in New South Wales.
A transcription of John Easty's journal was published in 1965.
John Hunter