What were conditions like on the ships?
Seasickness was common and the heat was oppressive. The lack of sanitation and suffocating conditions meant there was a constant threat of disease. Epidemics of fever, dysentery (the ‘flux’) and smallpox were frequent. Captives endured these conditions for about two months, sometimes longer.
What were the problems on the First Fleet?
It had poor soil, insufficient freshwater supplies, and was exposed to strong southerly and easterly winds. With all the cargo and 1,400 starving convicts still anchored in Botany Bay, Phillip and a small party, including Hunter, quickly set off in three boats to find an alternative place to settle.
How was the weather on the First Fleet?
Extreme weather and wild storms had convicts aboard the First Fleet praying for their lives, according to ship logbooks and diaries. “They had a really bad storm that hit them on New Year’s Day on the first of January, 1788, and they had big swells and waves,” Dr Gergis told reporters on Thursday.
What were the conditions like on board the coffin ships?
As if the hard living conditions were not enough, passengers faced many serious problems on coffin ships. Due to the lack of hygiene, illnesses like cholera, typhus, and dysentery spread throughout the ships. People suffered from high fevers, huge pus-filled sores, and diarrhea.
How long was the first fleet trip?
252 days
Route taken by HMS Sirius, the flagship of the British First Fleet, 13 May 1787– 26 January 1788. The voyage from England to Australia took 252 days, covering over 24 000 kilometres.
What did the first fleet bring?
The First Fleet consisted of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports, carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts, marines, seamen, civil officers and free people (accounts differ on the numbers), and a large quantity of stores.
What was the living conditions on the First Fleet?
Conditions were very unsanitary, and dysentery and cholera were common, though less common than on subsequent fleets. The convicts shared ship space with rats. They were given small rations of basic flour and salted meat. Occasionally they were permitted to walk around the decks for exercise.
What was the weather like on the First Fleet to Australia?
Find out weather conditions on the voyage of the First Fleet to Australia in 1788 using the Map below. Magnify the map by scrolling then click on the ship icons to read accounts of the voyages from First Fleet Journals. Each of the eleven ships is represented by a different colour.
How long was the voyage of the First Fleet?
The eleven ships of the First Fleet departed from Portsmouth on a voyage of 15,900 miles, taking 184 days, with a complement of 1530 sailors, marines and convicts.
Where did the first fleet of convicts sail from?
First Fleet convicts The First Fleet, consisting of 11 vessels, was the largest single contingent of ships to sail into the Pacific Ocean. Its purpose was to find a convict settlement on the east coast of Australia, at Botany Bay. The First Fleet sailed from England on 13 May 1787 and arrived at Botany Bay eight months later, on 18 January 1788.