The Alexander
A three-masted, barA three-masted, barque-built vessel, 'Alexander' weighed 452 tons.
She was 114 feet long on the lower deck, with an extreme breadth of
31 feet at the beam and was of 452 85/94 tons burthen. Built in
Hull, England, in 1783 the bark vessel 'Alexander' carried 213 male
convicts, 37 marines, and approximately 30 seamen (officers
included). She was the largest of the 11 ships in the First Fleet.
She was the largest transport ship in the First Fleet
Before leaving England, fever broke out on board, and sixteen
men died.
She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying 195 male convicts. 15
more convicts died on the journey, the most for any ship in the
fleet. She arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia, on 26 January
1788. William Douglas,
sentenced to 7 years transportation for stealing a silver watch, was
on board.
Philip Wilson aboard the transport ship Alexander arrives in New
South Wales with the first shipment of convicts.
After eight incredible months, we on board the Alexander have
finally reached our destination. As I write this, the ship is moored
in Sydney Cove, Port Jackson. Our original destination of Botany
Bay, discovered by Captain Cook in Endeavour in April, 1770, was
judged unsuitable by the commander of this fleet, Captain Arthur
Phillip RN. So, with that, we headed another few days north and now,
the fleet is unloading its 750 convicts, male and female, for what
promises to be a strange and unknown new life.
Long Haul: It
has indeed been a long haul to get to New South Wales. We left
Portsmouth, England early on Sunday 13 May last year. A place and a
time that seem literally half a world away to us now as I stare up
at strange new constellations I have never seen before.
After
docking for a few days in Tenerife at the beginning of June last
year, we spent most of August in Rio de Janeiro and then, after
crossing the Atlantic, from mid-October to mid-November at the Cape
of Good Hope. We arrived in Botany Bay on January 19 after eight
weeks being battered by the southern oceans. It is an experience I
won't forget for a long time.
Now we are finally here and the
government's policy of convict transportation has become a reality.
It is the responsibility of these 750 convicts and the ships' crew
and accompanying marines to forge a new existence out of this
seemingly barren place. We have enough supplies with us to suffice
until the second fleet arrives in about two year’s time. Until then,
we are on our own!
Mixed Bunch: I have got to know some of
the characters on Alexander over these months and some have tragic
stories indeed. They are a mixed bunch. Some have been sentenced to
life for murder - others for just a few years for seemingly very
petty crimes indeed.
One man John Randall spoke to me
recently on the Alexander. He was sentenced to seven years
transportation to New South Wales. What had he done to deserve such
a fate? "I stole a silver watch chain - that was three years ago. I
did some time on the hulks in the Thames and then got sent to the
Alexander."
Make no mistake. There are some very nasty
characters on this ship but it does break your heart to hear some of
the tales told by both the men and the women (nearly 200 in all in
the fleet) now preparing to start anew here in New Holland.
By July 1788, all the ships except the Naval
vessels "Syrius" and "Supply" had left and the settlement was
isolated. The Alexander left Port Jackson on 14 July 1788 in
company with the Friendship, whose crew she picked up when that ship
was scuttled. She reached England on 3 June 1789. Her master was
Duncan Sinclair, and her surgeon was William Balmain.
Little is known about her return journey but in 1808 she
disappeared from records. However, I have a note that a convict,
William Douglas of Middlesex, arrived on The Alexander in 1804.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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