What was life like as a convict on the First Fleet?
Convicts were often quite comfortable. They lived in two or three roomed houses, shared with fellow convicts or with a family. They had tables and chairs, cooked dinner (like pea and ham soup) over a fireplace and ate their food on china crockery using silver cutlery!
What happened to convicts who misbehaved?
As punishment for even more serious crimes, or for repeated misbehaviour, a convict could also be whipped, or ‘flogged’, with a cat-o’-nine-tails. They were called ‘scourgers’ and were probably given the job because they were larger and stronger than the other men.
How did the First Fleet affect Australia?
What effect did the First Fleet have on Australia’s first peoples? The arrival of the First Fleet immediately affected the Eora nation, the traditional Aboriginal owners of the Sydney area. Thousands of Eora people died as a result of European diseases like smallpox.
Where did the first fleet of convicts sail from?
On 13 May 1787 the First Fleet sailed from Portsmouth and arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. Within a week the fleet left the bay as Phillip decided it was unsuitable for the establishment of a colony. They sailed north to Sydney Cove, now Circular Quay, where the 751 convicts and 252 marines and administrators disembarked.
When did the convicts arrive in Botany Bay?
Governor Arthur Phillip rejected Botany Bay choosing instead Port Jackson, to the north, as the site for the new colony; they arrived there on 26 January 1788. The number of convicts transported in the First Fleet is unclear; there were between 750-780 convicts and around 550 crew, soldiers and family members.
Who was the British officer in the First Fleet?
Tench was a British marine officer who arrived in Botany Bay with the First Fleet. Try this book as it might have a mini biography of the convict you’re researching. These biographies were created using convict lists, musters, colonial returns and original journals from First Fleet officers, marines and convicts.
Why did the British Transport the convicts to Australia?
Between 1788 and 1868 more than 162,000 convicts were transported to Australia. Of these, about 7000 arrived in 1833 alone. The convicts were transported as punishment for crimes committed in Britain and Ireland. In Australia their lives were hard as they helped build the young colony.