Gday...

1769  -     Lieutenant James Cook observes the transit of Venus across the sun, on the trip during which he would chart Australia's eastern coast. 

Lieutenant James Cook was not the first to discover Australia, as he was preceded by numerous Portuguese and Dutch explorers. He was, however, the first to sight and map the eastern coastline when he was sent to observe the transit of Venus across the sun from the vantage point of Tahiti. The transit of Venus occurs when the planet Venus passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, and its unlit side can be seen as a small black circle moving across the face of the Sun. Transits of Venus occur in pairs, eight years apart, approximately once every 120 years. Cook's ship, the 'Endeavour', departed England, on 25 August 1768. Cook reached Tahiti in time for his crew and scientists to set up their instrumentation necessary to observe and report on the transit, which occurred on 3 June 1769.

After observing the transit of Venus, Cook went on to search for Terra Australis Incognita, the great continent which some believed to extend round the pole. It was shortly after observing the transit of Venus that Cook came across New Zealand, which had already been discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642. He spent some months there, charting the coastline. Nearly a year later, he set sail east for New Holland, later Australia.

1787  -     The First Fleet arrives in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, to take on extra supplies. 

Conditions in England in the 18th century were tough: the industrial revolution had removed many people's opportunities to earn an honest wage as simpler tasks were replaced by machine labour. As unemployment rose, so did crime, especially the theft of basic necessities such as food and clothing. The British prison system was soon full to overflowing, and a new place had to be found to ship the prison inmates. The American colonies were no longer viable, following the American war of Independence. Following Captain Cook's voyage to the South Pacific, the previously uncharted continent of New Holland proved to be suitable.

On 18 August 1786 the decision was made to send a colonisation party of convicts, military and civilian personnel to Botany Bay, New South Wales, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, who was appointed Governor-designate. The First Fleet consisted of 775 convicts on board six transport ships, accompanied by officials, crew, marines and their families who together totalled 645. As well as the convict transports, there were two naval escorts and three storeships.

The First Fleet assembled in Portsmouth, England, and set sail on 13 May 1787. On 3 June 1787, the fleet arrived at Santa Cruz, Tenerife in the Canary islands, to take on board fresh water, vegetables and meat. Phillip and the chief officers were entertained by the local governor, while one convict tried unsuccessfully to escape. The First Fleet arrived in New South Wales in January 1788. Australia Day, celebrated annually on January 26, commemorates the landing of the First Fleet at Port Jackson, and the raising of the Union Jack to claim the land as belonging to England.

1790  -     The Lady Juliana is the first ship of the Second Fleet to arrive in Sydney Cove.

The First Fleet of convicts, which established the colony of New South Wales, arrived in Port Jackson on 26 January 1788. The Second Fleet left England with a cargo of 1026 convicts, bound for New South Wales, on 19 January 1790. The Fleet comprised six ships: Justinian, Lady Juliana, Surprize, Neptune, Scarborough and Guardian, although the latter struck ice and was unable to complete the voyage.

The Second Fleet became notorious for its cruelty to the mostly female convicts. The convicts were limited to a starvation diet, despite the provision of adequate foods, and hundreds of them succumbed to scurvy, fever and dysentery. Between 267 and 278 died during the voyage, compared to the loss of between 30 and 40 convicts on the First Fleet voyage under Captain Arthur Phillip.

The Lady Juliana was the first ship of the Second Fleet to reach New South Wales, arriving on 3 June 1790. The Lady Juliana had departed Plymouth on 29 July 1789 with 226 female convicts, and taken 309 days to reach Port Jackson, one of the slowest journeys made by a convict ship. When the convicts disembarked, marks of cruelty were evident in the injuries shown on their bodies. The condition of the convicts led to public outcry in England, and although attempts were made to bring the perpetrators of the cruelty to justice, the crew members responsible were never prosecuted.

1862  -     John McKinlay, during his relief expedition to locate the missing Burke and Wills, loses a horse to snake bite.

The Burke and Wills expedition was supposed to mark the state of Victoria's greatest triumph: Victoria hoped to be the first state to mount an expedition to cross the continent from south to north. Instead, due to mismanagement and lack of clear communication, three of the four members of the party who finally made the attempt to cross to the gulf and back, never made it back. Robert O'Hara Burke, William John Wills and Charles Gray all died. John King alone survived, after being taken in and nursed by the Aborigines of the Cooper Creek area.

Although the expedition had been financed by the colony of Victoria, South Australia also mounted its own rescue mission for Burke and Wills, who were long overdue to return. John McKinlay, born at Sandbank on the Clyde in 1819, first came to New South Wales in 1836. He joined his uncle, a wealthy grazier, under whose guidance he soon gained practical bush skills, and then took up several runs in South Australia. McKinlay was chosen to head up the relief expedition for Burke and Wills, setting out from Adelaide in August 1861. During the course of his search, it is believed he crossed the continent from south to north, then east and back again, possibly making McKinlay the uncredited first explorer to cross the continent and survive. On 3 June 1862, one of his horses, Harry, was bitten by a snake and died at 9pm that night. (Another of their best horses, "Rowdy", was lost in a similar fashion on 18 June.) The remains of Burke and Wills were eventually located by the Victorian relief expedition.

Cheers - John