Governor Arthur Phillip arrived in Botany Bay on January 18, 1788, on HMS Supply. The Lady Penrhyn arrived two days later with the second part of the fleet on January 20, 1788, but none of the convicts left the ship.
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 May 13, 1787, and arrived at Botany Bay eight months later, on 18 January 1788.
Governor Arthur Phillip rejected Botany Bay choosing instead Port Jackson, to the north, as the site for the new colony; they arrived there on January 26, 1788.
