The First Fleet and Early Settlement
The Fleets....
The first fleet left Great Britain on the 13th May 1778 to found a Penal Colony in Australia. They also left to find a place where the convicts could be held for their crimes because the prisons in Britain were overcrowded. They arrived in Botany Bay on the 18th of January in 1788, two more fleets arrived in 1790 and 1791; these ships were filled with supplies, convicts as well as the British shipmen and their captains. Settlement Plan Australia wasn’t selected as a place for the convicts to just sit in jail; they were going to be the ones to build up the colony. The resources had come to Australia on board the ships, however they reached a shortage of materials before the colony was completely finished and so more supplies had to be sent in to Australia. Governor Arthur Phillip was the first Governor of the settlement and was in charge of organising the colony. Disease and hardships struck hard in the early decades of the settlement as it was the beginning of their new life, the British were not used to the different climates and way of living. Woman Convicts The women convicts of the first settlement were generally in their early twenties, and had been convicted of small, minor crimes. Most of them had been robbers and were sentenced to seven years in prison. Twenty per cent of the first convicts were women they were sent to work in the ‘female factories’ which were generally profit- making textile factories. The famous Parramatta factory was designed by an emancipated convict, Francis Greenway, as a place where all unassigned convict women could be sent. This factory played an important role in medical care for all the female population of the settlement. It was also known as a destination for refuge, work and a hospital, the Parramatta Factory was later used as an orphanage. Free Settlers The first free settlers arrived at Australia in 1793. They were mostly excited about the prospect of making a fortune as well as the convict labour in Australia. The free settlers were generally considered quite wealthy and they had to fund their own transport to Australia. These settlers were given large land grants and were provided with convicts to work for them. Many free settlers were not farmers but they were actually doctors and military officers searching for a better life in Australia. The life of a free settler was often quite harsh, the farmers and pastoralists in particular had to face droughts and floods but they were also faced with resistance from the indigenous peoples. Their shelter was very basic and food was very scarce until crops could be harvested. Few farms were a success in the early years of settlement and it was not until 1820s and 1830s that farming became flourishing revenue for the free settlers. |
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