Arthur Phillip

Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British naval officer, governor of the first European settlement in Australia and founder of the city of Sydney.

Governor of New South Wales

Then, in October 1786, Phillip was appointed captain of the ship Sirius and appointed Governor-designate of New South Wales, the proposed British penal colony on the east coast of Australia, on the other side of the world. The appointment seems to have been the work of George Rose, Under-Secretary of the Treasury and a neighbour of Phillip in Hampshire. He would have known of Phillip's experience in farming.

Related Topics:
1786 - Sirius - New South Wales

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Phillip had a very difficult time assembling the fleet which was to make the eight-month sea voyage to Australia. Everything a new colony might need had to be taken, since Phillip had no real idea of what he might find when he got there. There were few funds available for equipping the expedition. His suggestion that people with experience in farming, building and crafts be included was rejected. Most of the 778 convicts were petty thieves from the London slums. Phillip was accompanied by a contingent of marines and a handful of other officers who were to administer the colony.

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The First Fleet, of eleven ships, set sail on 13 May 1787. The leading ship reached Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. Phillip soon decided that this site, chosen on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks, who had accompanied James Cook in 1770, was not suitable, since it offered no secure anchorage and had no reliable water source. After some exploration Phillip decided to go on to Port Jackson, and on 26 January the marines and convicts were landed at Sydney Cove, which Phillip named after Viscount Sydney, the Home Secretary.

Related Topics:
First Fleet - 13 May - 1787 - Botany Bay - 18 January - 1788 - Sir Joseph Banks - James Cook - 1770 - 26 January - Sydney Cove - Viscount Sydney - Home Secretary

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The early days of the settlement were chaotic and difficult. With limited supplies, the cultivation of food was imperative, but the soils around Sydney were poor, the climate was unfamiliar, and moreover very few of the convicts had any knowledge of agriculture. Farming tools were scarce and the convicts were unwilling farm labourers. The colony was on the verge of outright starvation for an extended period. The marines, poorly disciplined themselves in many cases, were not interested in convict discipline. Almost at once, therefore, Phillip had to appoint overseers from among the ranks of the convicts to get the others working. This was the beginning of the process of convict emancipation which was to culminate in the reforms of Lachlan Macquarie after 1811.

Related Topics:
Agriculture - Starvation - Lachlan Macquarie - 1811

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Phillip showed in other ways that he recognised that New South Wales could not be run simply as a prison camp. Two convicts, Henry and Suzannah Kable, sought to sue the captain of one the transport ships for stealing their possessions during the voyage. Convicts in Britain had no right to sue. But Phillip not only allowed this, he found in their favour, and ordered the captain to make restitution. Phillip had said before leaving England: "In a new country there will be no slavery and hence no slaves," and he meant what he said. Nevertheless, Phillip believed in discipline, and floggings and hangings were commonplace.

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Phillip also had to adopt a policy towards the Iora Aboriginal people, who lived around the waters of Sydney Harbour. Phillip ordered that they must be well-treated, and that anyone killing Aboriginal people would be hanged. Phillip befriended an Iora man called Bennelong, and later took him to England. On the beach at Manly, a misunderstanding arose and Phillip was speared in the shoulder: but he ordered his men not to retaliate. Phillip went some way towards winning the trust of the Iora, although the settlers were at all times treated extremely warily. Soon, smallpox and other European-introduced epidemics ravaged the Iora population.

Related Topics:
Aboriginal people - Sydney Harbour - Bennelong - Manly - Smallpox

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The Governor's main problem was with his own military officers, who wanted large grants of land, to which Phillip would not agree. The officers were expected to grow food, but they considered this beneath them. As a result scurvy broke out, and in October 1788 Phillip had to send Sirius to Cape Town for supplies, and strict rationing was introduced, with thefts of food punished by hanging.

Related Topics:
Scurvy - 1788 - Cape Town

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