From Terra Australis to Australia
In May 1787 the British government sent the First Fleet 20,000 kilometres around the world. It was the largest fleet to enter the Pacific. The 11 ships arrived in Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788 but the colony very nearly collapsed in the coming years as they had little success in growing crops and relied on supplies brought in by sail.
atmitchell has an unrivalled collection of original journals, logbooks, letters, paintings, prints, drawings and books covering adventures and achievements such as the voyage of the First Fleet, the mutiny on the Bounty, Matthew Flinders' mapping of the Australian coast and other important events from the early years of Terra Australis.
A direct north general view of Sydney Cove, 1794, possibly by Thomas Watling
Oil Painting, DG 60
