On arrival at Botany Bay on 18 January 1788, Captain Phillip decided the site was not suitable and resolved to look for another. He decided upon Port Jackson, the site of modern day Sydney, and the people of the First Fleet established Australia’s first settlement on 26 January 1788.
The Fleet consisted mainly of convicts with officers to guard them. Few people in the Fleet had any experience of cultivating the land and this, combined with poor soil in the area, lead to severe food shortages. The fledgling colony eagerly awaited on the arrival of the Second Fleet in 1790.
By 1820, Australia was beginning to look prosperous and sentiments of Australian patriotism were being expressed at gatherings of ex-convicts. The sense of belonging to a new nation must have been encouraged in 1817 when Governor Macquarie recommended the adoption of the name ‘Australia’ for the entire continent instead of New Holland. By 1847 the convict population of Sydney accounted for only 3.2 percent of the total population.
Source: (http://www.about-australia.com/facts/new-south-wales-history/)
The Fleet consisted mainly of convicts with officers to guard them. Few people in the Fleet had any experience of cultivating the land and this, combined with poor soil in the area, lead to severe food shortages. The fledgling colony eagerly awaited on the arrival of the Second Fleet in 1790.
By 1820, Australia was beginning to look prosperous and sentiments of Australian patriotism were being expressed at gatherings of ex-convicts. The sense of belonging to a new nation must have been encouraged in 1817 when Governor Macquarie recommended the adoption of the name ‘Australia’ for the entire continent instead of New Holland. By 1847 the convict population of Sydney accounted for only 3.2 percent of the total population.
Source: (http://www.about-australia.com/facts/new-south-wales-history/)
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Significant People of New South Wales
Phillip was the founding Governor of the Colony of New South Wales and 2014 marked the 200th anniversary of his death at his home in Bath, England, on 31 August 1814.
As Commander of the First Fleet, Captain Arthur Phillip led 11 ships, some little bigger than a Sydney ferry, on a remarkable eight month voyage. The success of the voyage with minimal loss of life was due to Phillip’s care and planning prior to their departure from Portsmouth, England. On arrival at Botany Bay, Phillip found the site unsuitable and searched for a more habitable site for settlement which he found in Port Jackson - the site of Sydney today. From Government House, where the Museum of Sydney now stands, Governor Phillip ruled the colony and its 1500 inhabitants with absolute power and responsibility for its survival. His determination and strength as a leader was tested during the first years of settlement when crops failed, supply ships did not come, his authority was challenged and initial attempts to broker a harmonious relationship with the local Aboriginal people were largely unsuccessful. In spite of these hardships the colony prospered and Phillip is remembered today for his many achievements. His vision of a British outpost of free settlers helped grow an undistinguished penal colony into a global city. (Source: http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/) James Ruse was convicted in 1782 of breaking and entering, and sentenced to seven years' transportation. He arrived on the First Fleet with 18 months of his sentence to go. Ruse applied to Governor Phillip for a land grant, stating that he had been bred to farming. Governor Phillip, desperate to make the colony self-sufficient, allocated Ruse an allotment at Rose Hill (Parramatta), where he proved himself industrious and showed that it was possible for a family to survive through farming. Having done this, Ruse received a grant of 30 acres (Grant No 1) and by 1793 was able to sell 600 bushels of maize. He later exchanged this grant for more fertile land on the Hawkesbury. Ruse never built on his initial success.
(source: https://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/go/hsie/background-sheets/profiles-significant-people) Watch the below from 1 mins to learn about James Ruse's contribution to the colony. |
William Bligh is perhaps one of the most notorious figures in Australian political history. Bligh found New South Wales to be in a great state of distress. Floods had caused loss of cattle and crop failure. There were less ships arriving with supplies and convict labour and the military and local traders had monopolised the available stores during the last years of King’s reign. Bligh quickly organized flood relief and promised settlers that government stores would buy their crop after the next harvest. He gave meat and grain from the government stores to the needy. In the meantime he granted the small settlers credit at the government stores against their next season’s crops.
Bligh had a dictatorial approach in his role of governor. Bligh issued new regulations to tighten up the government’s control of ships, their cargoes. He didn't allow the bartering of spirits for grain, labour, food or any other goods. Bligh attempted to stop the use of rum as currency and the granting of extra land to already large landowners and undo the monopoly on trade held by the NSW Army Corps. Bligh, like the other governors, was given authority to make the laws. As the NSW Corps, now better known as the Rum Corps, had gained considerable strength since their arrival, there was constant tension between them and Bligh. The Rum Corps and John Macarthur did not want to give up their positions of power in the colony and felt that they had kept the colony surviving throughout previous years. (Source: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/) Watch the below from 31 mins to learn about Bligh and the Rum Rebellion Bass and Flinders shared an interest in exploring and after arriving in Sydney in 1795, they set out to explore the coast south of the settlement, sailing in a 2.5 metre long rowing boat calledTom Thumb. They explored Botany Bay and the Georges River. When they returned nine days later their report to Governor Hunter led later to a settlement being made on the Georges River at Bankstown.
On a second voyage Bass and Flinders discovered and named Port Hacking and Lake Illawarra. (Source: Kidscyber.com.au) |
These men were given permission by Governor Lachlan Macquarie to conduct an expedition to find a way across the mountains to new pastures for sheep grazing. They set off from Blaxland’s (the leader of the expedition) farm on May 11, 1813, with four packhorses, five dogs, and four other people, three of them convicts. Their supplies for a six-week journey included salted meat, tents, compasses, cutting tools and guns.
After leaving from Emu Plains the explorers at first spent their time travelling along the main ridge that led them up into the mountains. They marked a track as they went, cutting bark from trees on either side so that they could find their way back again. The explorers went down into a deep valley near Mount York to let their horses eat some fresh grass and drink water and later they crossed the valley and climbed a high hill on the other side. From here they saw some good grazing land to the west of the Blue Mountains. They returned on June 6 and much later their route became a highway. (Source: Kidscyber.com.au) |
Lachlan Macquarie was sworn in as governor of the Colony of New South Wales on New Year's Day in 1810. His instructions were to:
Macquarie set about fulfilling Castlereagh's orders regarding social reform by condemning unmarried couples living together. He restricted the trading of alcohol. Public houses were ordered to close during church services. He introduced a regular church parade for convicts in government employment. Swearing in public was prohibited, particularly on Sundays, and he opened more schools in Sydney and outlying areas to improve the morals and prospects of future generations. Additionally, Macquarie adopted his own vision for the colony, which included a predominantly free settler society coexisting with a penal settlement. His governorship saw with a dramatic increase in the number of convicts, he developed an extensive public works program to use the free (convict) labour for the construction of essential infrastructure like hospitals, roads and churches. After 11 years of his governorship, he left the New South Wales colony, including Van Diemen's Land, a much larger and more efficiently run society. During his time, the population of the colony tripled, the number of sheep and cattle multiplied by more than ten times, and land under cultivation increased substantially. Macquarie left a well-developed system of roads, bridges, public buildings and gardens. (http://www.myplace.edu.au/) |