The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven
shipSince the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s which sailed from
Great BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts (192 women and 586 men), to establish the first
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an colony in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in the region which
Captain CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
had named
New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. The fleet was led by Captain (later Admiral)
Arthur PhillipAdmiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
. The ships arrived at
Botany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
between 18 and 20 January 1788. HMS Supply arrived on 18 January; Alexander, Scarborough and Friendship arrived on 19 January, and the remaining ships on 20 January.
Ships of the First Fleet
Naval escorts:
| Ship |
Type |
Captain |
Dep. England |
Arr. Sydney |
Duration |
HMS SiriusHMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet, which set out from Portsmouth, England, in 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales, Australia. Sirius was wrecked off the coast of Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean in 1790....
|
converted merchant ship/armed naval vessel - FlagshipA flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the fleet |
Captain Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
John Hunter |
13 May 1787 at Portsmouth |
20 January 1788 at Botany Bay |
252 |
| HMS Supply |
armed tender |
Captain Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Henry Lidgbird BallHenry Lidgbird Ball was a Royal Navy officer, best known for discovering and exploring Lord Howe Island.In 1788, having previously commanded HMS Supply, Lieutenant Ball commanded the vessel entrusted with shipping the first group of settlers from Botany Bay to Norfolk Island.Between 1788 and 1790,...
|
13 May 1787 at Portsmouth |
18 January 1788 at Botany Bay |
250 |
Convict transports:
| Ship |
Type |
Master |
Crew |
Dep. England |
Arr. Sydney |
Duration |
Male convicts arrived (boarded) |
Female convicts arrived (boarded) |
| Alexander The Alexander was a First Fleet transport of 452 tons, barque-built with quarterdeck, built at Hull in 1783. She was the largest transport ship in the First Fleet. Before leaving England, fever broke out on board, and sixteen men died. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying 195 male convicts....
|
BarqueA barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
|
Duncan Sinclair Duncan Sinclair was a Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was born in Minto Township, Ontario and became a salesman....
|
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
19 January 1788 |
251 |
195 |
none |
| Charlotte The Charlotte was a First Fleet transport ship of 335 tons, built on the River Thames in 1787. She was a light sailer, and had to be towed down the English Channel for the first few days of the voyage...
|
heavy sailer |
Thomas Gilbert Thomas Gilbert was an 18th century British mariner.Thomas Gilbert and John Marshall were the captains of two East India Company vessels, the Charlotte and the Scarborough, returning from carrying convicts to Botany Bay in 1788, when they sailed through the Gilbert Islands and described Aranuka,...
|
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
20 January 1788 |
252 |
88 |
20 |
| Friendship Friendship was an Australian First Fleet transport ship, built in Scarborough, England, in 1784.A brig of 278 tons, she was among the smallest of the transports. Her master was Francis Walton and surgeon Thomas Arndell. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying seventy-six male and twenty-one...
|
BrigA brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
|
Francis Walton |
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
19 January 1788 |
251 |
76 |
21 - to Cape of Good Hope only |
| Lady Penrhyn The Lady Penrhyn was a First Fleet transport ship of 333 tons, built on the River Thames in 1786. Her master, William Compton Sever, was part-owner. Nicholas anstis was second in command....
|
transport |
William Cropton Server |
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
20 January 1788 |
252 |
none |
101 |
| Prince of Wales The Prince of Wales was a First Fleet transport ship of 350 tons, built on the River Thames in 1786. She was 31.4 metres in length. She was built by the firm Christopher Watson and co. of Rotherhithe, who are also thought to have built HMS Sirius in 1786...
|
transport |
John Manson John Mason was master of the Prince of Wales in the First Fleet.The Prince of Wales left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying one male and forty-nine female convicts, and arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia, on 26 January 1788...
|
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
20 January 1788 |
252 |
1 |
49 |
| Scarborough 'Scarborough' was a transport ship of 430 tons, built at Scarborough in 1782. She formed part of the First Fleet, which commenced European settlement of Australia in 1788....
|
transport |
Captain Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
John MarshallCaptain John Marshall was born in Ramsgate, Kent, England on 15 February 1748. Having been bound apprentice at the age of ten he spent his life at sea...
|
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
19 January 1788 |
251 |
208 |
none |
Food and Supply Transports:
| Ship |
Type |
Master |
Crew |
Dep. England |
Arr. Sydney (Port Jackson) |
Duration (days) |
Male convicts arrived (boarded) |
Female convicts arrived (boarded) |
| Golden Grove The Golden Grove was a First Fleet storeship built at Whitby in 1780. Her master was William Sharp, while the Fleet's chaplain Richard Johnson and his wife and servant also travelled to New South Wales on this ship. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, and arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney,...
|
storeship |
William Sharp |
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
26 January 1788 |
258 |
21 - from Port Jackson to Norfolk Island |
11 - from Port Jackson to Norfolk Island |
| Fishburn The Fishburn was the largest of the three First Fleet storeships. She was built at Whitby in 1780, and was of 378 tons. Her master was Robert Brown. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, and arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia, on 26 January 1788...
|
storeship |
Robert Brown |
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
26 January 1788 |
258 |
none |
none |
| Borrowdale The Borrowdale was a First Fleet storeship of 272 tons, built in Sunderland in 1785. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, and arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia on 26 January 1788. She left Port Jackson on 14 July 1788 to return to England via Cape Horn...
|
storeship |
Houston Reed |
N/A |
13 May 1787 |
26 January 1788 |
258 |
none |
none |
Scale models of all the ships are on display at the
Museum of SydneyThe Museum of Sydney, on the Site of First Government House is built on the ruins of the house of New South Wales' first Governor, Arthur Phillip on the present-day corner of Phillip and Bridge Street, Sydney. The original house, which was Australia's first Government House, was built in 1788 and...
.
Nine
Sydney harbour ferriesSydney Ferries is an agency of the New South Wales Government Department of Transport, providing ferry services on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River in Sydney, Australia....
in current service were named after these First Fleet vessels (the unused names are Lady Penrhyn and Prince Of Wales).
People of the First Fleet
The number of people directly associated with the First Fleet will probably never be exactly established, and all accounts of the event vary slightly. Mollie Gillen gives the following statistics:
| | Embarked at Portsmouth | Landed at Port Jackson |
| Officials and passengers |
16 |
14 |
| Ships' crews |
324 |
269 |
| Marines |
247 |
245 |
| Marines wives and children |
46 |
54 |
| Convicts (men) |
579 |
543 |
| Convicts (women) |
193 |
189 |
| Convicts' children |
14 |
18 |
| Total |
1,403 |
1,332 |
During the voyage there were seven births, while 69 people either died, were discharged, or deserted (61 males and 8 females). As no complete crew musters have survived for the six transports and three storeships, there may have been as many as 110 more seamen.
Ropes, crockery, glass panes for the governor's windows, ready-cut wood, cooking equipment (including some complete cast-iron stoves), and a miscellany of weapons were needed. Other items included tools, agricultural implements, seeds, spirits, medical supplies, bandages, surgical instruments, handcuffs, leg irons and chains. A prefabricated house for the governor was constructed and packed flat. 5,000 bricks for construction and thousands of nails were loaded. The party had to rely on only its provisions to survive until it could make use of local materials, assuming suitable supplies existed, and could grow its own food and raise
livestockLivestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
.
The voyages
With fine weather the convicts were allowed on deck, and on 3 June 1787 the fleet anchored at
Santa CruzSanta Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009...
at
TenerifeTenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
. Here fresh water, vegetables and meat were taken on board. Phillip and the chief officers were entertained by the local governor, while one convict tried unsuccessfully to escape. On 10 June they set sail to cross the Atlantic to
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, taking advantage of favourable
trade windThe trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator...
s and ocean currents.
The weather became increasingly hot and humid as the fleet sailed through the
tropicsThe tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
. Vermin, such as rats, and parasites such as bedbugs, lice, cockroaches and fleas, tormented the convicts, officers and marines.
BilgeThe bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship where the two sides meet at the keel. The word was coined in 1513.-Bilge water:The word is sometimes also used to describe the water that collects in this compartment. Water that does not drain off the side of the deck drains down through the ship into...
s became foul and the smell, especially below the closed hatches, was over-powering. On Alexander a number of convicts fell sick and died. Tropical rainstorms meant that the convicts could not exercise on deck, and were kept below in the foul, cramped holds. On the female transports, promiscuity between the convicts and the crew and marines was rampant. In the
doldrumsThe doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage for those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm...
, Phillip was forced to ration the water to three pints a day.
The fleet reached Rio de Janeiro on 5 August and stayed a month. The ships were cleaned and water taken on board, repairs were made, and Phillip ordered large quantities of food for the fleet. The women convicts' clothing had become infested with lice and were burnt. They were issued with new clothes made from rice sacks. While the convicts remained below deck, the officers explored the city and were entertained by its inhabitants. A convict and kohi marine were punished for passing forged quarter-dollars made from old buckles and pewter spoons.
The fleet left Rio de Janeiro on 4 September to run before the
westerliesThe Westerlies, anti-trades, or Prevailing Westerlies, are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, blowing from the high pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the poles. These prevailing winds blow from the west to the east, and steer extratropical...
to the
Cape of Good HopeThe Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
in southern Africa, which it reached on 13 October. This was the last port of call, so the main task was to stock up on plants, seeds and livestock for their arrival in Australia. The livestock taken on board from the Cape of Good Hope destined for the colony of NSW included: two bulls, seven cows, one stallion, three mares, 44 sheep, 32 pigs, four goats and "a very large quantity of poultry of every kind". Women convicts on the Friendship were moved to other transports to make room for livestock purchased there. The convicts were provided with fresh beef and mutton, bread and vegetables, to build up their strength for the journey. The
DutchThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
colony of
Cape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
was the last outpost of European settlement which the fleet members would see for years, perhaps for the rest of their lives. “Before them stretched the awesome, lonely void of the Indian and Southern Oceans, and beyond that lay nothing they could imagine.” (Hughes, p. 82)
Assisted by the gales of the latitudes below the 40th parallel, the heavily-laden transports surged through the violent seas. A freak storm struck as they began to head north around
Van Diemen's LandVan Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
, damaging the sails and masts of some of the ships.
In November, Phillip transferred to Supply. With Alexander, Friendship and Scarborough, the fastest ships in the Fleet and carrying most of the male convicts, Supply hastened ahead to prepare for the arrival of the rest. Phillip intended to select a suitable location, find good water, clear the ground, and perhaps even have some huts and other structures built before the others arrived. However, this "flying squadron" reached
Botany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
only hours before the rest of the Fleet, so no preparatory work was possible. Supply reached Botany Bay on 18 January 1788; the three fastest transports in the advance group arrived on 19 January; slower ships, including Sirius, arrived on 20 January.
This was one of the world's greatest sea voyages — eleven vessels carrying about 1,487 people and stores had travelled for 252 days for more than 15,000 miles (24,000 km) without losing a ship. Forty-eight people had died on the journey, a death rate of just over three per cent. Given the rigours of the voyage, the navigational problems, the poor condition and sea-faring inexperience of the convicts, the primitive medical knowledge, the lack of precautions against scurvy, the crammed and foul conditions of the ships, poor planning and inadequate equipment, this was a remarkable achievement.
It was soon realised that Botany Bay did not live up to the glowing account that the explorer Captain
James CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
had provided. The bay was open and unprotected, fresh water was scarce, and the soil was poor.
First contactsFirst contact is a term describing the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another. One notable example of first contact is that between the Spanish and the Arawak in 1492....
were made with the local indigenous people, the
EoraThe Eora are the Aboriginal people of the Sydney area, south to the Georges River, north to the Hawkesbury River, and west to Parramatta. The indigenous people used this word to describe where they came from to the British. "Eora" was then used by the British to refer to those Aboriginal people...
, who seemed curious but suspicious of the newcomers. The area was studded with enormously strong trees. When the convicts tried to cut them down, their tools broke and the tree trunks had to be blasted out of the ground with gunpowder. The primitive huts built for the officers and officials quickly collapsed in rainstorms. The marines had a habit of getting drunk and not guarding the convicts properly, whilst their commander, Major
Robert RossMajor Robert Ross was the officer in charge of the First Fleet garrison of marines, and Lieutenant-Governor of the convict settlement of Norfolk Island.- Life and career :...
, drove Phillip to despair with his arrogant and lazy attitude. Crucially, Phillip worried that his fledgling colony was exposed to attack from the Aborigines or foreign powers.
On 21 January, Phillip and a party which included John Hunter, departed the Bay in three small boats to explore other bays to the north. Phillip discovered that
Port JacksonPort Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
, about 12 kilometres to the north, was an excellent site for a colony with sheltered anchorages, fresh water and fertile soil. Cook had seen and named the harbour, but had not entered. Phillip's impressions of the harbour were recorded in a letter he sent to England later; "the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security ...". The party returned on 23 January.
On the morning of 24 January the party was startled when two
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
ships were seen just outside Botany Bay. This turned out to be a scientific expedition led by
Jean-François de La PérouseJean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was a French Navy officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania.-Early career:...
. The French had expected to find a thriving colony where they could repair ships and restock supplies, not a newly arrived fleet of convicts considerably more poorly provisioned than themselves. There was some cordial contact between the French and British officers, but Phillip and La Pérouse never met. The French ships remained until 10 March, but never returned to France, being wrecked with the loss of nearly all lives near Vanikoro Island in the
New HebridesNew Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
(
VanuatuVanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
).
On 26 January 1788, the fleet weighed anchor and sailed to
Port JacksonPort Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
. The site selected for the anchorage had deep water close to the shore, was sheltered, and had a small stream flowing into it. Phillip named it
Sydney CoveSydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
, after
Lord SydneyThomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC , was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in the second half of the 18th century...
the British
Home SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
. This date is still celebrated as
Australia DayAustralia Day is the official national day of Australia...
, marking the beginnings of the first British settlement. The British flag was planted and formal possession taken. This was done by Phillip and some officers and marines from Supply, with the remainder of Supplys crew and the convicts observing from on board ship. The remaining ships of the Fleet did not arrive at Sydney Cove until later that day.
First Fleet Smallpox
Recent scholars, Christopher Warren (2007) and Craig Mear (2008), have shown that the First Fleet probably introduced live smallpox virus into Australian aboriginal tribes. Earlier writers were divided over 1) whether the First Fleet introduced smallpox and 2) whether this was deliberate. Mear's paper shows that the First Fleet was the origin of the disease but says there is no proof that smallpox was deliberately released [see Mear (2008) pg 17]. There remains some disputation in avowedly conservative media such as
QuadrantQuadrant is an Australian literary and cultural journal. The magazine takes a conservative position on political and social issues, describing itself as sceptical of 'unthinking Leftism, or political correctness, and its "smelly little orthodoxies"'. Quadrant reviews literature, as well as...
.
In 2009, Michael Bennett argued "... that it was communicated deliberately" in
Bulletin of the History of Medicine. Bennett proposed that convicts may have been responsible, as an act of revenge against local Aboriginal tribes.
Commemoration Garden
After Ray Collins, a stonemason, completed years of research into the First Fleet he sought approval from about nine councils to construct a commemorative garden in recognition of these immigrants. Liverpool Plains Shire Council was finally the only council to accept his offer to supply the materials and construct the garden free of charge. The site chosen was a disused caravan park on the banks of Quirindi Creek at
Wallabadah, New South WalesWallabadah is a village in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia.The town is located 55 kilometres south of Tamworth on the New England Highway and is in the Liverpool Plains Shire. At the 2006 census, Wallabadah had a population of 746....
. In September 2002 Ray commenced work on the project. Additional support was later provided by Neil McGarry in the form of some impressive signs and the council which contributed $28,000 for pathways and fencing. Ray hand-chiseled the names of all those who came out to Australia on the eleven ships in 1788 on stone tablets along the garden pathways. The stories of those who arrived on the ships, their life, and first encounters with the Australian country are presented throughout the garden. On 26 January 2005, the First Fleet Garden, was opened as the major memorial to the (approximately 1,500) First Fleet immigrants. Previously the only other specific memorial to the First Fleeters was an obelisk at
Sans Souci, New South WalesSans Souci is a southern Sydney suburb in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sans Souci is 17 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Rockdale and the Municipality of Kogarah. It is part of the St George area.Sans...
. The surrounding area has a barbecue, tables, and amenities.
Fiction
- Colleen McCullough
Colleen McCullough-Robinson, , is an internationally acclaimed Australian author.-Life:McCullough was born in Wellington, in outback central west New South Wales, in 1937 to James and Laurie McCullough. Her mother was a New Zealander of part-Māori descent. During her childhood, her family moved...
, Morgan's Run- The book :Morgan's Run is a historical novel by Colleen McCullough published in 2000 about the life of an English prisoner driven to the first penal colonies in Australia in the 18th century...
, ISBN 0-09-928098-1.
- Timberlake Wertenbaker
- Biography :Wertenbaker grew up in the Basque Country of France near Saint-Jean-de-Luz. She attended schools in Europe and the US before settling permanently in London...
, Our Country's GoodOur Country's Good is a 1988 play written by British playwright, Timberlake Wertenbaker, adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel The Playmaker. The story concerns a group of Royal Marines and convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales, in the 1780s, who put on a production of The Recruiting...
, ISBN 0-413-73740-3
- Thomas Keneally
Thomas Michael Keneally, AO is an Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction. He is best known for writing Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982 which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor...
, The PlaymakerThe Playmaker is a novel based in Australia written by the Australian author Thomas Keneally.In 1789 in Sydney Cove, the remotest penal colony of the British Empire, a group of convicts and one of their captors unite to stage a play...
, ISBN 0-340-42263-7
- William Stuart Long, The Exiles, ISBN 0-8264-021-4
- William Stuart Long, The Settlers, ISBN 0-8624-021-4
- William Stuart Long, The Traitors, ISBN 0-86824-021-4
External links