Australia DayDo 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.

What event does 26th January commemorate?

In which year did the original event happen?

26th January commemorates the day when a flag was planted, establishing a colony in 1788.

(They get harder.)

Where did the First Fleet establish this colony?

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.

Who was the Governor-designate of the First Fleet?

Who was the person charged with establishing and leading the new colony?

Captain Arthur Phillip

Congratulations if you got that one

right! (They’re going to get

harder again.)

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.

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.

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?

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?

Cook wasn’t even the first Englishman to “discover” Australia!

Who was?

That would be William Dampier.

He was pretty mucha pirate. :/ But he was also the first to circumnavigate

the world three times.

So what did Captain Cook do?

Know the name of his ship?

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.

So what was the significanceof 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.)

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.

How many ships were there in the First Fleet?

Can you name any of them?

There were eleven ships in the First Fleet.

• Two Naval escorts• HMS Sirius• HMS Supply

• Three supply ships• Golden Grove• Fishburn• Borrowdale

• Six convict ships• Alexander• Charlotte• Friendship• Lady Penrhyn• Prince of Wales• Scarborough

How many people settled with the First Fleet?

Roughly what were the ratios of

military, convicts, and civilians?

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.

So, how’d you do?

Happy Australia Day!