Did Arthur Phillip do his job well as the first person to lead the first fleet?

Answer 1

Captain Arthur Phillip was an excellent choice of leader for the First Fleet. He had a strong background in the Royal Navy, and had served on ship at war with France in the West Indies and Mediterranean Sea. He had a reputation for strong discipline and effective leadership. His biggest problem was that the English authorities did not listen to him. He was a practical man who suggested that convicts with experience in farming, building and crafts be included in the First Fleet, but his proposal was rejected.

Arthur Phillip was the one who recognised that Botany Bay was not everything James Cook had said. When the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788, Phillip immediately determined that there was insufficient fresh water, an absence of usable timber, poor quality soil and no safe harbour at Botany Bay. He moved the fleet north to Port Jackson, arriving on 26 January 1788. It is significant to note that, of all the Fleet leaders in the early part of Australia's settlement, fewer convicts' lives were lost during the sea journey under Phillip, than under any of the other Captains later on.

Once in New South Wales, Phillip quickly established order in the colony, set down rules that were not always popular with his officers, as he recognised that the convicts were entitled to some rights. He faced many obstacles as he tried to build up the new colony. British farming methods, seeds and implements were unsuitable for use in the different climate and soil, and the colony faced near-starvation in its first two years. Many of the seeds had gone mouldy or been eaten by rats on the journey over.

Phillip worked hard to improve understanding with the local Aborigines, even receiving a spear in his shoulder for his trouble.

Within three months of the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia, Phillip explored Sydney Harbour, in search of more land suitable for settlement. Taking eleven men and enough provisions for six days, he travelled as far as he could by boat up Sydney Harbour, tracing the Parramatta River to the point where Parramatta itself would be established six months later, as Rose Hill. The party then spent four days travelling overland towards the Blue Mountains. They could not continue, due to deep ravines, impossible countryside and insufficient supplies. However, two months later Phillip set out again, on a journey to trace the course of the Hawkesbury River as far upstream as he could. His journeys of exploration allowed considerable expansion of the colony in those crucial early years.

The colony finally succeeded in developing a solid foundation, agriculturally and economically, thanks to the perseverance of Captain Arthur Phillip.