First Fleet Day

Welcome to all my visitors "coming from a land Down Under" on First Fleet Day. There have been 362 of you so far this month. Well, visits. Could be that I've got just one really obsessive visitor with multiple IPs...

Chronology of the First Fleet: Reference: from Mollie Gillen, p. 536

1776 The American War of Independence begins. The former American colonies refuse to accept British convicts.

I'd say "Sorry," guys, since you could have been Americans otherwise... except I think that would get my butt kicked!

1781-2 Two attemps to establish a convict colony in west Africa end in disaster with most of the convicts dying from disease and privation or escaping.

1783 August Peace with America prompts the despatch of the Swift transport. The convicts mutiny in the Channel and many escape at Rye, Sussex. The remainder are sent on to Maryland.

1784 March The Mercury sails for America with 179 convicts. A mutiny again takes place and many escape at Torbay, Devon. Those remaining on board are sent on to America and eventually landed on the Mosquito Coast in Central America after being rejected by the newly independent United States.

Hmmm. I see a pattern here. No wonder the elites of Great Britain get grumpy with us Colonials. We.Just.Don't.Do.As.We're.Told! Of course, our own elites are getting grumpy about that too, eh?

1786 August 18 Lord Sydney writes to the Treasury requesting the provision of ships to carry convicts to New South Wales.

1787 January 6 The first group of convicts are embarked on Alexander at Woolwich, London.

May 13 First Fleet sails from Portsmouth, Hampshire.

June 3 Arrival at Madeira. Water and fresh supplies taken on board.

July 14 Fleet crosses equator.

August 6 Arrival at Rio de Janiero. Fleet undergoes repairs, takes on fresh water and supplies.

September 4 Fleet departs Rio.

October 14 Arrival at Cape of Good Hope. Fresh supplies and livestock taken on board.

November 12 Departure from the Cape. (Table Bay)

November 25 Captain Phillip divides the Fleet and sails ahead with the four fastest ships.

1788 January 3 Coast of Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) sighted.

Jan 18/19 The first division of the Fleet anchors at Botany Bay.

January 20 The remainder of the Fleet arrives.

January 26 All Fleet ships anchor in Sydney Cove, Port Jackson. Captain Phillip and officers go ashore, raise the flag and toast the new colony.

I suppose I should feature a Lithgow product today...

When it opened in 1912, the Lithgow Small Arms rifle factory was the most advanced industrial plant in Australia. No other factory, Government or private, had the capability or the need to produce large quantities of interacting metal parts to the exacting standards necessary for the chosen rifle – the British .303-inch, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield. Not only had the parts of the rifle to be accurately made, but that same standard had to be maintained consistently over the projected life of the rifle design. Furthermore, it was required that any random combination of parts could be assembled into a satisfactory weapon and that all Australian-made parts would be interchangeable with parts made overseas. These requirements were beyond any Australian manufacturer prior to 1912.