Where did the first fleet land??
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST FLEET – 1788 The fleet arrived at Botany Bay between 18th and 20th January 1788. However, this area was deemed to be unsuitable for settlement so they moved north arriving at Port Jackson on the Australian East coast on 26 January 1788. After deciding that Botany Bay was not suited for a Settlement due its lack of fresh water – even though it had been recomended by Captain James Cook in 1770 as a possible location for a settlement. Botany Bay had other shortcomings as well, it was open to the sea, making it unsafe for the ships and Captain Arthur Phillip (the Colony’s first Governor) considered the soil around Botany Bay was poor for crop growing. From the start the settlement was beset with problems. Very few convicts knew how to farm and the soil around Sydney Cove was poor. Exploration of the country to the west of Sydney Cove resulted in the location of better land on the Parramatta River. A settlement was to develop there, called Rose Hill, and agriculture, altho
