Australian Colonial Settlement

When the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour (having moved on from the seemingly unproductive Botany Bay), the land was completely untouched by European influence. There were abundant trees - eucalypts, tea trees, melaleucas, bottle-brushes, grevilleas, etc. The smell of eucalyptus would have been strong in the air. There was little grassland, and acres of trees had to be felled before crops could be planted. The animals roamed freely - wallabies, kangaroos, koalas (not that the Europeans even knew of the koala for at least ten years after settlement), wombats, echidnas and so on. The skies were full of flocks of screeching galahs and cockatoos, the sound of which would have been unlike any of the Europeans had ever heard before. Then there were the kookaburras - strange, laughing birds sitting high in the trees.

The insects were unlike anything the British had ever seen before, Captain Arthur Phillip described the ants as "black and red ants of a most enormous size". There are also more poisonous snakes in Australia than any other country, while the sight of tree-climbing goannas up to three feet in lentgh (or more) would have been sure to frighten even the more hardened convicts.

Sydney Cove was somewhat more promising than Botany Bay had been. Captain Arthur Phillip wrote of Botany Bay:

There are great numbers of very large and lofty trees, reaching almost to the water's edge, and every vacant spot between the trees appears to be covered with verdure; but upon a nearer inspection, the grass is found long and coarse, the trees very large and in general hollow and the wood itself fit for no purposes of building, or anything but the fire. The soil to a great depth is nothing but a black sand which, when exposed to the intense heat of the sun by removing the srrounding trees, is not fit for the vegetation of anything even of the grass itself..."

The First Fleet made three stops on the way to Botany Bay.

The First Fleet travelled from Portsmouth, England to Santa Cruz, Tenerife in the Canary islands.

After that, it journeyed to Rio de Janeiro.

Its third stop was Cape Town.

The Fleet then sailed along the southern part of the Australian continent, around Van Diemen's Land to Botany Bay, where it was supposed to settle.

Botany Bay proved unsuitable for settlement, so the Fleet moved to Port Jackson and Sydney Cove, which was the site it colonised.

Problems of the First Fleet included:

• diseases such as dysentery and scurvy
• lack of rations once the ships left the ports and fresh supplies ran low
• seasickness among the convicts, most of whom had never been at sea

All religions of the world have had a chequered history for one reason. Despite the message of the religion, they are populated by human beings with their weaknesses and human failings.

That said, the Christian religion was founded on the love of God through Jesus Christ, who preached that we should not hate our enemies, but love them, and pray for them when they persecute us. This is directly contrary to Islam, for example, where their god Allah commands them to hate or even kill those who do not believe, nor take Jews or Christians as friends (The Koran 2: 98, 2:161, 2:191, 5,54 and many many other references).

That said, despite the love of God within Christianity, there have been times when Christian has waged war on Christian and on others. In the middle ages the Church waged war on the Cathars as they believed them to be a dangerous heretical sect - which was in reality not far from the truth. In the Crusades, Christians waged war on the moslems - but again not without some justification, as the Muslims had invaded and captured Jerusalem which was seen then as a predominantly Jewish and Christian city without the links to Islam that, say, Mecca had. Later, the Catholic Church through the Inquisition, committed quite violent atrocities in the name of 'Christianity' to stamp out what they deemed as heresy. In the politics of England in Tudor times, Queen Mary, a Catholic, was instrumental in the execution of hundreds of protestants as a lesson for what her father Henry VIII had done in splitting from Rome - hence her nickname of 'Bloody Mary' (from which the cocktail is named). In modern times, in Northern Ireland the Catholic/Protestant conflict between the Catholic IRA and the Loyalist protestants escalated between the 1960s to the 1990s. Sad to say, and to their shame, the IRA was actually funded by many rich ex-pat Irish in the USA - many of whom hypocritically belonged to the so-called 'Bible belt' in the deep south.

Therefore, there have been many atrocities carried out in the name of 'religion' - although many not without justification. Despite this, the vast majority of Christians try to adhere to Christ's teaching of peace and love for all - unconditionally. Many countries use this rule of life to ensure a peaceful society. In the UK, which is still officially a Christian country, we are noted as being one of the most tolerant nations on earth - far less xenophobic than some major European nations and far less racist than many others - including the USA where race relations are still poor in some areas despite, thank God, there is now a mixed-race president.

It is important to remember, however, that Christianity is by nature and by Christ's teaching a peaceful religion, which shows love and respect for all. Contrast this with the teachings in many other religions, and you might see that, despite its failings, it still remains the most welcoming religion that there ever has been, and, probably, ever will be.

No "famous" botanist accompanied the First Fleet.

Famous botanist Sir Joseph Banks accompanied James Cook on the Endeavour when Cook became the first European to chart the eastern coast of Australia.