In 1786, Captain Arthur Phillip was appointed to lead an expedition to establish a British colony in New South Wales, supported by Captain John Hunter. The First Fleet, consisting of 11 ships carrying convicts, marines, and supplies, departed Portsmouth on 13 May 1787.
After resupply stops in Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, and Cape Town, the fleet endured an arduous 15,000-mile journey, arriving at Botany Bay in January 1788 with minimal loss of life despite challenging conditions onboard.
Finding Botany Bay unsuitable, Phillip explored Port Jackson, discovering Sydney Cove with its fertile soil, freshwater, and protected anchorage. On 26 January 1788, the fleet relocated there, raising the British flag. He later wrote a letter to Lord Sydney in which he described Port Jackson as “the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security.” Phillip went on to say, “This country will hereafter be a most valuable acquisition to Great Britain from its situation.”
According to Phillip’s account:
“In the evening of the 26th the colours were displayed on shore, and the Governor, with several of his principal officers and others, assembled round the flag-staff, drank the king’s health, and success to the settlement, with all that display of form which on such occasions is esteemed propitious, because it enlivens the spirits, and fills the imagination with pleasing presages.”
While there are those who seek to rewrite Australian history, portraying the British settlers as violent, cruel, and heartless individuals who ruthlessly slaughtered the innocent Indigenous inhabitants, this simply isn’t the case. Of all the peoples who could have established Australia, the Indigenous population was fortunate to have the Christian British settlers, who were among the most reserved, restrained, and compassionate when it came to dealing with the Natives.
Without a doubt, conflicts did arise, as they did among the European settlers, but for any community to thrive, some degree of harmony was necessary, and that harmony required the enforcement of law and order. Both Natives and settlers were not permitted to steal another man’s property, rape another man’s wife or daughters, or shed innocent blood. When such natural laws were violated, consequences were necessarily enforced.
Phillip observed that the Indigenous people often avoided interaction with the British settlers. However, he was resolute in his policy to avoid violence against them. He stated:
“It has been my determination from the time I landed, never to fire on Natives, but in a case of absolute necessity, and I have been so fortunate as to have avoided it hitherto. I think they deserve a better character than what they will receive from Monsr. La Perouse, who was under the disagreeable necessity of firing on them. I think better of them from having been more with them. They do not in my opinion want personal courage, they very readily place a confidence and are, I believe, honest among themselves.”
Letter from Arthur Phillip to the Marquis of Lansdowne, 3 July 1788
The arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 marked the beginning of British colonization in Australia, led by Captain Arthur Phillip. His leadership and efforts to establish peaceful relations with Indigenous people shaped the colony’s early years, despite the significant challenges. As we celebrate Australia Day, it is vital to acknowledge the God-wrought achievements of this historic event. Given the immense challenges before them, what the British settlers achieved in such a short time was nothing short of miraculous.
Happy Australia Day.
