Alexander, weighing in at 452 tons, 114 ft long and 31 ft at the beam, the Alexander was commanded by Master Duncan Sinclair. She carried 192 male convicts and was the largest ship in the fleet. Continue Reading »
First Fleet Fellowship Victoria Inc
Descendants of those who arrived with the First Fleet in 1788 with Captain Arthur Phillip
World War 1
Thoughts from homeEntering Botany Bay
The First Fleet entering Botany BayNorfolk Island
Sydney Cove, OverseersThames River Scene
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales was added to the number of transports in December 1786, on representation being made to the Treasury Board, that such an addition was necessary to carry female convicts to Botany Continue Reading »
Scarborough
Scarborough was named after the town on the East Coast of England where it was built in 1782. She was a 430 ton, three-masted cargo ship; 111 feet 6 inches (34 m) long and 30 feet 2 inches (9.2 m) Continue Reading »
The Journal of Philip Gidley King: Lieutenant, R.N. 1787-1790
Philip Gidley King kept a number of journals during his service in the Southern Seas. His Official journal, kept on Sirius became the basis of the Norfolk Island Report in some early books concerning Australia. It was purchased in 1897 for the Sydney Public Library and is now in the Mitchell Library there. Another journalContinue Reading »
John Small and Mary Parker
The Reverend Richard Johnson, Chaplain to the colony married convicts John Parker and Mary Small on 12 October 1788. The witnesses were convict Thomas Akers and servant to the Reverend Johnson, Samuel Barnes. As chaplain’s clerk, his name appears numerous times as witness to Port Jackson weddings. Mary Parker’s sentence did not expire until AprilContinue Reading »
Early Australian Freemasonry
Freemasonry has been associated with the British discovery and settlement of Australia from the very beginning. Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), the naturalist who sailed into Botany Bay with James Cook in 1770 became a Freemason prior to 1768 and was a member of the Old Horn Lodge No. 4 in England. Thomas Lucas (1759-1815) aContinue Reading »