On this day in 1787, the First Fleet departed Portsmouth, England on a voyage of 15,000 miles lasting 220 days transporting settlers to Australia and marking the beginning of British colonization of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three storeships and six convict transports under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip. The ships held more than 1,400 convicts, marines, sailors, colonial officials and free settlers heading to Botany Bay.
Governor Arthur Phillip rejected Botany Bay choosing instead Port Jackson (later known as Sydney Harbor), to the north, as the site for the new colony; they arrived there on 26 January 1788, establishing the colony of New South Wales, as a penal colony which would become the first British settlement in Australia.
The decision to establish a colony in Australia was made by Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney, Secretary of State for the Home Office. This was taken for two reasons: the ending of transportation of criminals to North America following the American Revolution, as well as the need for a base in the Pacific to counter French expansion.
The Fleet reached Rio de Janeiro on 5 August and stayed for a month. The ships were cleaned and water taken on board, repairs were made, and Phillip ordered large quantities of food. The Fleet left Rio de Janeiro on 4 September to run before the westerlies to the Table Bay 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.
This was one of the world’s greatest sea voyages – eleven vessels carrying about 1,487 people and stores had traveled for 252 days for more than 15,000 miles (24,000 km) without losing a ship. Forty-eight people died on the journey, a death rate of just over three percent. Twenty children were born during the voyage.
Lithograph of the First Fleet entering Port Jackson, 26 January 1788, by Edmund Le Bihan
I guess Henry VIII and such…
BADA BING!!!
Flying the confederate flag…Irony is telling people “go back to your country” while flying the flag of a country that doesn’t exist in the country that defeated it.
We’re about 3 lines deep into the “first they came for” poem. It’s not a very long poem.
Q: How dd you meet your husband? A: I’m a pharmacist. He came in to buy condoms and asked for XXXXL. And it was only after we got married that I realized he stutters.
(sing along)… If your happy and you know it, it’s your meds.
If I was a plastic surgeon I would 100% put a squeaky toy in every breast implant.
I’m broke but not like poor broke. I’m classy type of broke. I’m broque’.
I think telling kids they’ll have less toys for Christmas because of tariffs while you have yourself a multi-million dollar military birthday parade is kind of a dick move. But what do I know…
If you donate your $400,000 salary but spend $90,000,000 on an unnecessary military parade, you’re in the hole $89,600,000.
If a little girl doesn’t need 30 dolls, then billionaires don’t need 20 cars, 2 yachts, and 10 homes.
90% of bald men still own a comb. They just can’t part with it.
Doctor: Your son has the measles because he wasn’t vaccinated. Mom: I want a second opinion. Doctor: You’re an idiot.
I have been lying to my cat for years. Anytime he meows at me, I say, “I know I know!” But I don’t know.
My goal is to be that old person everyone is afraid to take out in public.
I found that l have been happier since I changed from coffee in the morning to orange juice. My doctor explained that it’s the vitamin C and natural sugars but l really think it’s the vodka.
Sometimes the thoughts in my head get bored so they go out for a stroll through my mouth. This is rarely a good thing.
I just paid my taxes. The roads should be fixed any day now.
Unfortunately some people were not put here to evolve. They are here to remind you what it looks like if you don’t.
Today is the birthday, in 1950, of American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Wonder. A child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. Wonder who has been blind from shortly after birth, signed with Motown’s Tamla label at the age of eleven and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day. Wonder has scored over 40 US & UK Top 40 singles. Albums include Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. He wrote and sang this song about his daughter, Aisha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE56g61mW44
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