 An engraving of the First Fleet in Botany Bay at voyage's end in 1788 | |
| Date | 13 May 1787 to 20 January 1788 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 250 days |
| Location | Portsmouth, England and Botany Bay, Colony of New South Wales |
| Cause | Counter French imperialism in the Pacific and Penal transportation |
| Motive | Establishment of a Penal colony |
| Patron(s) | Lord Sandwich and Sir Joseph Banks |
| Organised by | The Viscount Sydney as Secretary of State for the Home Office |
| Participants | Captain Arthur Phillip, Governor of New South Wales and Major Robert Ross, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales |
| Outcome | Beginning of European settlement in Australia |
| Deaths | 48 died at sea |
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 British ships that took the first British colonists and convicts to Australia. It comprised two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, with over 1,400 people (convicts, marines, sailors, civil officers and free settlers), left from Portsmouth, England and took a journey of over 24,000 kilometres (15,000 mi) and over 250 days to eventually arrive in Botany Bay, New South Wales, where a penal colony would become the first British settlement in Australia from 20 January 1788.