The Hubbard First Fleet Society, celebrating
the life and times of
The Founding of Australia, Jan. 26th 1788, by
Capt. Arthur Phillip R.N. Sydney Cove. Original oil sketch [1937] by Algernon
Talmadge R.A. ML
1222
William
Hubbard
First Fleet convict, plasterer, husband, farmer, father,
constable, waterman, pauper
Born c.1767, died
1843
William Hubbard was
convicted of theft in London in 1783 and was due to be transported to the
American colonies for seven years however the War of Independence put an end to
this and he was instead gaoled in England. He spent nearly five years
in gaols and on convict hulks anchored in the River Thames before
being transferred onto the transport ship Scarborough in
February 1787.
With the flagship HMS Sirius and nine other
ships, Scarborough formed up into what has become known as the First
Fleet, sailing to Botany Bay in far off New South Wales to establish a
penal colony in the land first documented by Lieutenant James Cook in his
remarkable voyage of discovery in 1770. The fleet left Portsmouth on Sunday 13
May 1787.
After a voyage of eight months, they arrived at Botany Bay
but the absence of good water ashore forced the commander,Captain
Arthur Phillip, to try a different harbour known as Port Jackson, a little
way up the coast . James Cook had recorded but not entered this
harbour and Phillip found it to be far superior to Botany Bay. A good water
stream was located at what was to become Sydney Cove (above) and the fleet
disembarked on 26 January 1788.
Life in England
Life in Sydney
Town
Mary
Goulding/Atkinson
The Ponds
The
Hawkesbury
Children of William and Mary
About us
Contact us
Links
Sydney Cove is a bit grander now, 220
years after William arrived. The little ferry in the foreground is named
Scarborough and all the ferries of this type are named after First
Fleet vessels.
