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ANCIENT AUSTRALIANS: First Fleet

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders [Pre-Contact]

Life in 18th Century Britain

Resources: The First Fleet

The resources below support the ClickView series of mini-clips (at right) titles "The First Fleet." (Select the link to download.)

Convicts of the First Fleet

Convicts on the First Fleet

A searchable database of 780 First Fleet convicts. It does not contain information about the other 200 sailors, marines and officers who sailed with them.

 

The convict voyages

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Videos: The First Fleet [Miniclips]

Before 1788: British perspective [Miniclip, Rated E, 5:55 mins.]

Follow a British prison guard who tells of his experience managing prisoners at Newgate Prison from which thousands of convicts were transported to Australia. He recounts Captain Cook’s voyages leading up to and including the First Fleet and how this new faraway penal colony will make his job a whole lot easier.

SOURCE: ClickView (2021), Miniclips: The First Fleet; Before 1788: British perspective, ClickView, https://clickv.ie/w/lTvu

Before 1788: Indigenous Perspective [Duration: 4:17]

Listen to this young Gadigal woman describing her life on country, how her people care for the land, and recounting her family’s experiences with strange men, giant canoes on the horizon, and sticks that made loud noises and hurt when they hit you.

SOURCE: ClickView (2021), Before 1788: Indigenous Perspective, ClickView, https://clickv.ie/w/HjRt

People and Conditions Aboard [Miniclip, Rated E, 4:53 mins]

What were the conditions like aboard the First Fleet? This female convict tells the story of her transportation on the Lady Penrhyn from Newgate Prison. She details life aboard including the health issues experienced, along with the various types of crew members and convicts aboard (and their crimes).

SOURCE: ClickView (2021), Miniclips: The First Fleet; People and Conditions, ClickView

Challenges at the Sydney Cove Penal Settlement [Miniclips, Rated E, 7:08 mins]

Through the accounts of a new convict settler, we detail the challenges faced at the Sydney Cove penal settlement. He describes the difficulties of land management and extreme climate, and recognises the assistance of First Nations people to help them understand the land.

SOURCE: ClickView (2021), Miniclips: The First Fleet; Challenges at the Sydney Cove Penal Settlement, ClickView

Indigenous Experience After the Arrival [Miniclips, Rated E, 5:12 mins]

We examine the Indigenous experience after the First Fleet’s arrival through the voice of a proud Gadigal man. He details the deadly encounters between the British and First Nations people including Pemulwuy and his brave resistance against the colonisers.

SOURCE: ClickView (2021), Miniclips: The First Fleet; Indigenous Experience After the Arrival, ClickView

The Fleet of Ships

There were eleven ships in the First Fleet including two naval ships, six convict ships and three storeships for supplies. The ships were specially built for the long eight month voyage which had to carry prison chambers for the convicts, and also carry food and animals. Leaving from Portsmouth on the 13 May 1787 and arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788, the new settlers set out to start a new colony.