The document provides background information about Australia Day and the events it commemorates. It summarizes that Australia Day on January 26th marks the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and the establishment of the first European colony in Australia. The First Fleet, led by Governor Arthur Phillip, founded the initial settlement at Sydney Cove with around 1,500 people, consisting mostly of British convicts along with officials, military personnel, and their families.

1. Australia Day
Do you really know what it’s all about? Today,
when I tried to answer some of these
questions, I realised that I really, really didn’t
know Australian history well, so I made this
slideshow so that hopefully I can help you
score better at the next pub quiz night.

2. What event does 26th January
commemorate?
In which year did the original event
happen?

3. 26th January commemorates the day
when a flag was planted,
establishing a colony in 1788.
(They get harder.)

4. Where did the First Fleet
establish this colony?

5. The colony was established at
Sydney Cove, in the vicinity of
Circular Quay.
Who said Botany Bay? Botany Bay is where
the First Fleet were told to settle, but upon
arrival, a different spot was chosen. We’ll
get back to Botany Bay later.

6. Who was the Governordesignate of the First Fleet?
Who was the person charged with
establishing and leading the new colony?

7. Captain Arthur Phillip
Congratulations if
you got that one
right! (They’re
going to get
harder again.)

8. Captain Arthur Phillip was the
Governor-designate and the one who
thought that Sydney Cove was a more
appropriate site for settlement than
Botany Bay. He planted the flag in the
vicinity of Circular Quay.

9. What about Captain Cook?
If you’re wondering
where Captain James
Cook fits in, you’re
probably not alone, so
we’ll take a bit of a
detour.

10. Captain James Cook
didn’t discover Australia.
Not only were the indigenous Australians
obviously already here, he wasn’t even the
first European.
So who was the first European to “discover”
Australia?

11. Willem Janszoon, a Dutch navigator.
(No, I’d never heard of him, either.)
He mapped part of Cape York in
1606, and was the first European
known to have made landfall in
Australia, landing on Cape York near
Weipa on 26 February, 1606.
Still wondering where Cook fits in?

12. Cook wasn’t even the first
Englishman to “discover” Australia!
Who was?

13. That would be
William Dampier.
He was pretty much
a pirate. :/ But he was also
the first to circumnavigate
the world three times.

14. So what did Captain Cook do?
Know the name of his ship?

15. On his ship, the HMS Endeavour, Captain
Cook sailed along, and mapped, the
entire east coast of Australia for the first
time (having just finished mapping New
Zealand).
More significantly for Australian history, Cook was the first
European to claim the land – well, the east coast, anyway - for
Great Britain, and bestowed the name “New South Wales”
So, not really a great deal to do with Australia Day, except for
having told the British government: “that looks like a good place
to dump our convicts”, setting in motion the plans for eventual
settlement.

16. So what was the significance
of Botany Bay?
Cook’s expedition was the first to land on the
east coast of Australia, and he landed at
Botany Bay.
Do you know when he landed at Botany Bay?
(It’s a hard one.)

17. 29 April 1770
(No, I’d never heard that date, either.)
This date is when James Cook first landed on
Australian soil, and became the first European to
make landfall on the east coast.
OK, enough of James Cook and Botany Bay; let’s get
back to the First Fleet in 1788, and Australia Day.

18. How many ships were there in
the First Fleet?
Can you name
any of them?

19. There were eleven ships in the
First Fleet.
• Two Naval escorts • Six convict ships
• HMS Sirius
• HMS Supply
• Three supply ships
• Golden Grove
• Fishburn
• Borrowdale
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alexander
Charlotte
Friendship
Lady Penrhyn
Prince of Wales
Scarborough

20. How many people settled with
the First Fleet?
Roughly what were
the ratios of
military, convicts,
and civilians?

21. A little under 1,500.
The exact number is unknown, because we don’t have all the
records. We have documentation of 1,373 settlers, and it is
thought – based on rations and other records – that there were
approximately 110 extra unnamed people.
They consisted of approximately:
• 640 officials, crew, and military (530 accounted for, plus
estimated 110 unidentified)
• 54 military wives and children
• 736 convicts
• 17 children/infants of convicts
This make the First Fleet fairly evenly divided between free people
and convicts.

22. So, how’d you do?
Happy Australia Day!