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 »
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 »
Elizabeth Cole
It is an amazing coincidence that there were two young women who came to Australia on the First Fleet and were named Elizabeth Cole. This was at first most confusing, but eventually we found proof of which one was ours and her whole story fitted together. We have been told that our Elizabeth ColeContinue Reading »
Robert Watson
ROBERT WATSON from Northumberland, was aged 20, from when he joined HMS Sirius on 20 December 1786 as an able seaman. The next we hear of Robert was in March 1790 when he and his fellow seamen were stranded on Norfolk Island after HMS Sirius was wrecked. He remained on the Island, returning to SydneyContinue Reading »