Today, on another site, I was reminded of the tough battle that our convict ancestors had on arrival in this new country. To start off with, the food they ate had to be brought with them, there were no ready built houses, no supermarkets, no party of greeters when they first landed at Botany Bay.They soon found there was no water supply, re-loaded the ships and sailed into Sydney Cove where the Tankwater stream provided fresh drinking water for the first four years until polluted beyond human consumption. A new country with strange animals, a different climate and an indigenous people they could not communicate with.
While at Botany bay, two French Man Of War ships were seen on the horizon, so two ships were immediately dispatched to claim Norfolk Island as a British colony. It had been observed by Cook in 1770, that Norfolk Island had tall straight trees that would make good sailing ships masts and Flax grew naturally there as well and would make fine sailing cloth. Both theories were later proved incorrect.Those ships were HMS Sirius and Supply. Supply would make ten journeys from Sydney cove to Norfolk Island. Sirius was wrecked on Norfolk Island in 1790 while attempting to deliver Marines, Soldiers Convicts and provisions.All on board and most of the supplies were saved but there was no contact with Sydney until another ship called there. The extra mouths to feed as a result of this accident meant that the colony almost starved.
Meanwhile at Sydney cove that became Port Jackson, building of the colony was underway. These people bought with them a knowledge of building Northern Hemisphere buildings that they were to find out later, did not suit this new southern climate.
Take a moment to think of those on the second fleet. The shipping owners were paid to transport these poor wretches before leaving England so, they didn't care if they lived or died. On arrival in Sydney many had in fact, died en route, many had and were suffering from starvation, scurvy and dysentery. Things needed to be changed and they were for subsequent convict transport fleets.
We did some family history research for a friend recently and she was descended from a first fleet marine, who had been sent to Norfolk Island and a second fleet woman. Through Ancestry, this couple now are linked to 37,000 family trees.
Do you know your ancestral ties? Where do you originate from? Are these your ancestors as well?
