The First Fleet Captain Arthur Phillip 1786 portrait by Francis Wheatley (Wikipedia) Under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip the First Fleet set sail from England on 13 May1787. It comprised HMS Sirius, HMS Supply, six transports and three supply ships. Captain Phillip, in HMS Supply arrived first at the original destination, Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. The rest of the fleet arrived over the next two days. By the time the other vessels of the fleet arrived, Phillip had decided that Continue Reading »