Third Fleet (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The Third Fleet consisted of 11 ships which set sail from United Kingdom
in February, March and April 1791 bound for the Sydney
penal settlement, with over 2000 convicts. The passengers consisted of convicts, military personnel and notable people sent to fill high positions in the colony. More important for the fledgling colony was that the ships also carried provisions.
The first ship to arrive in Sydney was the Mary Ann with its cargo of female convicts and provisions on the 9 July 1791. The Mary Ann could only state that more ships were expected to be sent. The Mary Ann had sailed on her own to Sydney Cove
, and there is some argument about whether she was the last ship of the Second Fleet, or the first ship of the Third Fleet. The ships that make up each fleet, however, are decided from the viewpoint of the settlers in Sydney Cove. For them the second set of ships arrived in 1790 (June), and the third set of ships arrived in 1791 (July–October). The Mary Ann was a 1791 arrival.
The next ship to arrive just over 3 weeks later on 1 August 1791 was the Matilda. With the Matilda came news that there were another nine ships making their way for Sydney, and which were expected to arrive shortly. The final vessel, the Admiral Barrington, did not arrive until the 16 October nearly 11 weeks after the Matilda, and 14 weeks after the Mary Ann.
, except for the Queen that departed from Cork
, Ireland
.
.
Convict Arrivals on the Third Fleet included:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in February, March and April 1791 bound for the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
penal settlement, with over 2000 convicts. The passengers consisted of convicts, military personnel and notable people sent to fill high positions in the colony. More important for the fledgling colony was that the ships also carried provisions.
The first ship to arrive in Sydney was the Mary Ann with its cargo of female convicts and provisions on the 9 July 1791. The Mary Ann could only state that more ships were expected to be sent. The Mary Ann had sailed on her own to Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
, and there is some argument about whether she was the last ship of the Second Fleet, or the first ship of the Third Fleet. The ships that make up each fleet, however, are decided from the viewpoint of the settlers in Sydney Cove. For them the second set of ships arrived in 1790 (June), and the third set of ships arrived in 1791 (July–October). The Mary Ann was a 1791 arrival.
The next ship to arrive just over 3 weeks later on 1 August 1791 was the Matilda. With the Matilda came news that there were another nine ships making their way for Sydney, and which were expected to arrive shortly. The final vessel, the Admiral Barrington, did not arrive until the 16 October nearly 11 weeks after the Matilda, and 14 weeks after the Mary Ann.
Ships of the Third Fleet
The ships all departed from PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, except for the Queen that departed from Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
| Ship | Master | Dep. England | Arr. Sydney | Duration | Male convicts: arrived [deaths] (boarded) | Female convicts: arrived [deaths] (boarded) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Ann Mary Ann (1772) Mary Ann was a convict ship dispatched in 1791 from England to Australia. She was built in 1772 in France. Under the command of Master Mark Munroe, she departed Portsmouth on 16 February 1791, with 150 female convicts as part of the third fleet and arrived on 9 July 1791 in Port Jackson, New South... |
Mark Munro | 16 Feb 1791 | 9 Jul 1791 | 143 days | 141 [9] (150) | |
| Matilda Matilda (1779) Matilda was a convict ship dispatched in 1791 from England to Australia. She was built in 1779 in France. Under the command of Master Matthew Weatherhead, she departed Portsmouth on 27 March 1791, with 250 male convicts as part of the third fleet and arrived on 1 August 1791 in Port Jackson, New... |
Matthew Weatherhead | 27 Mar 1791 | 01 Aug 1791 | 127 days | 215 [25] (230) | |
| Atlantic Atlantic (1783) Atlantic was a convict ship dispatched in 1791 from England to Australia. She was built in Swansea, Wales for St Barbe & Co., London and launched in 1783. Under the command of Master Archibald Armstrong, she departed Portsmouth on 27 March 1791, with 220 male convicts as part of the third fleet and... |
Archibald Armstrong | 27 Mar 1791 | 20 Aug 1791 | 147 days | 202 [18] (220) | |
| Salamander Salamander (1776) Salamander was a convict ship dispatched in 1791 from England to Australia. She was built on the Thames River and launched in 1776. Under the command of Master John Nichol, she departed Portsmouth on 27 March 1791, with 160 male convicts as part of the third fleet and arrived on 21 August 1791 in... |
John Nichol | 27 Mar 1791 | 21 Aug 1791 | 148 days | 155 [5] (160) | |
| William and Ann William and Ann (1759) William and Ann was a convict ship dispatched in 1791 from England to Australia. She was built in 1759 in England. Under the command of Master Eber Bunker, she departed Plymouth on 27 March 1791, with 188 male convicts as part of the third fleet and arrived on 28 August 1791 in Port Jackson, New... |
Eber Bunker Eber Bunker Eber Bunker was a sea captain and pastoralist, born on 7 March 1761 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. His parents were James Bunker and his wife Hannah, née Shurtleff.-1776-1786: Background:... |
27 Mar 1791 | 28 Aug 1791 | 154 days | 181 [7] (188) | |
| HMS Gorgon | Commander John Parker, RN | 15 Mar 1791 | 21 Sep 1791 | 190 days | 30 [1] (31) | |
| Active Active (1764) Active was a convict ship dispatched in 1791 from England to Australia. She was built in 1764 at Shoreham, England for Calvert & Co. She served in the East India Company from 1791 until 1793... |
John Mitchinson | 27 Mar 1791 | 26 Sep 1791 | 183 days | 154 [21] (175) | |
| Queen (came from Cork, Ireland) | Richard Bowen Richard Bowen Richard Bowen was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars... |
Apr 1791 | 26 Sep 1791 | unknown | 250 [32] (282) | 6 [-] (6) (arrival of females is a mystery) |
| Albemarle Albemarle (1776) Albemarle was a convict ship dispatched in 1791 from England to Australia. She was built in 1776 in France. She was captured by while acting as a transport for the French Army in 1779 and was condemned in the Prize Court at Barbados. Purchased by Calvert & Co. and renamed Albemarle, she served in... |
George Bowen | 27 Mar 1791 | 13 Oct 1791 | 200 days | 126 [7] (133) | 22 [-] (22) |
| Britannia | Thomas Melvill | 27 Mar 1791 | 14 Oct 1791 | 201 days | 129 [21] (150) | |
| Admiral Barrington Admiral Barrington (ship) Admiral Barrington was a convict ship dispatched in 1791 from England to Australia.She was built in 1781 in France and was employed as a French West Indiaman. She was captured and was later sold to Godfrey Thornton... |
Robert Abbon Marsh | 27 Mar 1791 | 16 Oct 1791 | 203 days | 264 [36] (300) | |
| TOTAL | 1706 [173] (1879) | 169 [9] (178) |
People of the Third Fleet
From the above table it can be seen that 173 male convicts and 9 female convicts died during this voyage. Though this death rate was high, it was nowhere near as bad as that which had occurred on the Second FleetSecond Fleet (Australia)
The Second Fleet is the name of the second fleet of ships sent with settlers, convicts and supplies to colony at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson, Australia. The fleet comprised six ships: one Royal Navy escort, four convict ships, and a supply ship....
.
Convict Arrivals on the Third Fleet included:
- Lord, SimeonSimeon LordSimeon Lord was a pioneer merchant and a magistrate in Australia. He became a prominent trader in Sydney, buying and selling ship cargoes. Despite being an emancipist Lord was made a magistrate by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and he became a frequent guest at government house. His business...
pioneer merchant and magistrateMagistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a... - Nichols, IsaacIsaac NicholsIsaac Nichols was a convict on the Third Fleetwho became a successful businessman and was appointed the first Postmaster of New South Wales in 1809. The mayhem that could occur when supply ships arrived, which was said to include unscrupulous people taking other people's mail and selling it back...
first PostmasterPostmasterA postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
(1810)
External sources
- Bateson, Charles, The Convict Ships, 1787-1868, Sydney, 1974. ISBN 0-85174-195-9
- Hughes, Robert, The Fatal Shore, London, Pan, 1988 ISBN 0-394-75366-6
- Keneally, Thomas (2006), A Commonwealth of Thieves, Sydney, Random House, ISBN 978 1 744166 121 7