#first fleet

The Borrowdale seal of Captain Hobson Reed, 1787        

Finally added the little details here and there, so the muscle fluff man is looking good so far. Missing the details for First Fleet flag he wears and that would be it for him.

Not quite what I had originally planned, but something is something. I’m having fun with the coloring too so that's a plus. I usually struggle with coloring as I don’t know how to approach my linework 99.99% of the time. (yikes!)

Resist / Revive / Decolonise

January 26th is annually celebrated as ‘Australia Day’ by patriotic Australians and denounced as Invasion Day by many indigenous people and anti-colonial actvists. The date marks the anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet on the territory in 1788, a British fleet of naval vessels carrying missionaries soldiers and convicts.

On this day, 11th October 1738, Captain Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of NSW, was born.

Arthur Phillip was born in London on 11 October 1738. He joined the Royal Navy when he was fifteen, and earned a living as a navy officer and also as a farmer.

In October 1786, Phillip was appointed Governor-designate of the proposed British penal colony of New South Wales. He was a practical man who suggested that convicts with experience in farming, building and crafts be included in the First Fleet, but his proposal was rejected. The First Fleet left Portsmouth, England, on 13 May 1787, and arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. Phillip immediately determined that there was insufficient fresh water, an absence of usable timber, poor quality soil and no safe harbour at Botany Bay. The fleet was subsequently moved to Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788. Phillip faced many obstacles in his attempts to establish the new colony. British farming methods, seeds and implements were unsuitable for use in the different climate and soil, and the colony faced near-starvation in its first two years. Phillip also worked to improve understanding with the local Aborigines. The colony finally succeeded in developing a solid foundation, agriculturally and economically, thanks to the perseverance of Captain Arthur Phillip. Poor health forced Phillip to return to England in 1792. He resigned his commission soon after arriving back in England, and died on 31 August 1814.

The State Library of New South Wales holds many items relating to Arthur Phillip including correspondence and pictorial material, as well as the First Fleet collection

[Captain Arthur Phillip, 1786] / painted by Francis Wheatley   ML 124