What food did the convicts eat in Botany Bay?

Answer 1

Male convicts were allowed a ration of meat per day (1lb of salt pork, beef or mutton) and 1 to 2lb per day of flour or cornmeal to make damper. If there were lucky the meat they received would be fresh but it was usually far from it. The convicts were also supplied with some tea and sugar and usually managed to buy tobacco and rum. Female convicts were given two-thirds of what the male convicts received.

The convicts didn't receive and fresh fruit or vegetables, but those convicts who were lucky enough to receive a good posting were allowed to grow their fruit and vegetables on a small plot of land.

Answer 2

Once the British convicts reached Australia, they were fed much the same foods as they were given on the First Fleet. They still initially had access to salted beef and pork which had been brought from England, and stock animals which had been purchased from Cape Town could be bred for meat. There were grains such as flour and barley, which could be made into bread, and because there were dairy cows, this meant there was also access to cheese and butter.

Work quickly commenced on trying to grow food for the colony, but in the early years, crops struggled because of the unfamiliar climate and the fact that British seed either had not survived the voyage or just couldn't grow in Australia's harsher conditions. There were no further ships until the Second Fleet, which only brought enough for the convicts of the fleet, and a supply ship from South Africa was wrecked, meaning those much-needed supplies were lost. It was not until the Third Fleet in 1791 that extra supplies were brought, and by then the crops in Australia were also sufficiently established to start feeding the people (including the convicts) properly.

Answer 3

None.

The convicts did not live in botany Bay, as this site was unsuitable for establishing a settlement. The convicts lived in Sydney, on Port Jackson. Here, they were fed on mainly bread, salted meat, occasional fresh meat, grains and basic vegetables.