Representations of life in the penal settlement at Sydney Cove

Newton fowell

Sources: Letters / The Sirius letters: The complete letters of Newton Fowell midshipman & lieutenant aboard the Sirius flagship of the first fleet on its voyage to New South Wales (1988)

Authors: Newton Fowell / Book edited by Nance Irvine

Links:

Source type: Primary source (letters)

Useful for:

This source is especially useful for Stage 2 because it provides a young officer’s firsthand perspective of the First Fleet voyage and early settlement.

Resources chapters

Overview
Arthur Phillip ~ 1788
Arthur Phillip ~ 1789
Watkin Tench
John White
Arthur Bowes-Smyth
Newton Fowell

About Newton Fowell

Newton Fowell (1768–1790) was a young midshipman aboard HMS Sirius, the flagship of the First Fleet, which sailed to New South Wales in 1787. During the voyage and the early years of settlement, Fowell wrote a series of detailed letters to his father in England. These letters were later published as The Sirius Letters, providing a firsthand account of the journey to Australia and the establishment of the penal colony.

Selected excerpts

Letter from Newton Fowell to his brother - Arrival at Port Jackson, Code of Laws read, Norfolk Island, houses and buildings

"January 26,1788...The entrance of Jackson is narrow but you may pass within 100 yards of the South Head...

In working in we saw several of the natives who called to us; but as we approached the shore they retired to the bush. At 5 we anchored in a small cove where we found the Supply laying. All the convoy by sunset were all at anchor within us; here you are entirely landlocked and it is impossible for any winds to do you the least damage.

The next day got on shore some tents & landed some of the convicts & some of the shore division of marines, who were employed clearing ground.

28th Capt. Hunter, Mr Bradley & other proper officers were employed surveying the harbour. Landed the remainder of the convicts & marines, the former of whom were employed clearing the ground, the latter pitching the encampment. The convicts were constantly employed in clearing & enclosing ground.

30th Landed all the cattle which was 5 cows, 2 bulls & 6 horses which came from the Cape in the Lady Penrhyn, several sheep & hogs.

Sunday February 3 Divine service was performed on shore for the first time. There has been a great deal of thunder, lightning & heavy rain since our first arrival here. On the night of the 6th several trees were shivered with lightning; one in particular which had several very large branches broke entirely off and several sheep which were in a pen under the tree were killed.

The next day the Governor’s commission and code of laws for the colony were read, in which he is titled Captain General & Governor in Chief of the Settlement in New South Wales & all the Adjacent Islands in the South Seas. He afterwards had a cold dinner for the officers at which I was. Several bumper toasts were afterwards drank and we immediately broke up.

8th Capt. Hunter finished the survey of the harbour. He says it contains a number of very good coves fit for any number of ships to anchor in with the greatest safety. Indeed he says it is the finest harbour in the known world. The cove in which we are is called Sydney Cove; none of the rest is yet named...

14th Mr King & Mr Jamieson, surgeon’s mate, & Mr Cunningham, master’s mate with 4 seamen, 2 marines & 12 convicts went on board the Supply to go to Norfolk Island to make a settlement there which is to supply this colony with pine and light wood, and to go there and return with 6 months provisions. A boat equipped with every necessary article, & some tools of all sorts. It is their chief expectation to find flax there to make a loom and sail.

...The convicts were constantly employed clearing ground, building store houses for the reception of provisions, of which were built forty. Trees about 4 feet in the ground so as to touch each other & thatched over with rushes. There are likewise a number of hovels built of cabbage tree for the officers & the battalion. They are chiefly thatched with rushes but some are covered with wooden tiles, the wood of which these tiles are made of resembles something like the ash, but in any other respect is not the least like it. Some of our people were employed in making a garden on an island which was named Garden Island.

Exploration further inland, convicts killed, town is named Albion (not Sydney?), cows lost, earthquake, bricks for houses

15th April The Governor, accompanied by several officers, went from the new discovered arm into the country for a few days. They returned on the 19th, having found a very fine country.

18th Twenty employed surveying the new discovered arm.

25th Capt Hunter finished the survey. He found it very spacious but at some places very shoal; the cove is near the entrance. Having at low water only 2 feet at some places, but when you pass this which is not very broad you have 10 fathom water.

28th Saw the Governor who went further up the harbour in a boat to examine a river they had found out... It was all the way like a park with trees about 20 yards distance from each other... When further inland they saw mountains. The very tops of them can be seen in a clear day from the head of the harbour. Water inland is in great plenty. They saw several ponds, some of them 200 yards wide, & several wild geese on them. The soil inland they found very good.

30th In the afternoon two convicts who were sent to cut rushes were found murdered by the natives who had thrown several spears in them... The next day the Governor went up the harbour attended by some of the officers, some marines, to try & find out the natives who had murdered the convicts...

June 1st The Governor returned and he had seen a party of natives to the number of 21. He immediately advanced towards them and one of them seeing him unarmed gave his spear to another and met the Governor. After a few motions on both sides a man presented himself who had a deep cut on his shoulder which must have been either from an axe or sword. They at last parted very good friends.

6th June A dinner was given by the Governor to all the officers. He has named the intended town Albion. The country between which extends from the Heads of Botany Bay to the head of Broken Bay, which lays about 7 miles to the northward of this and as far in the country to the mountains...

Several of the officers were robbed, one man was taken in the fact, another as soon as he heard he was found out disappeared. The same day all of the cows that were brought out in this ship were lost and it was supposed he had driven them off... We have not seen them since, nor do we ever expect to see them again. This is a very great loss to the colony as we must go a long way before we can replace them wither to the Cape of Good Hope or the Philipine Islands. I am of the opinion the natives have killed them as once before they threw a spear at one of them calling them kangooroo at the same time. These animals are peculiar to this country none of them is to be found in any other place...

The handsomest bird here are the loreyqueets. They are of different colours but the plumage of them are very brilliant so much so that paint cannot describe their brilliancy. However I have sent one of them stuffed to give you an idea... Of Reptiles there are several different sorts of snakes but none I believe venomous. They have been caught 9 feet long...

(The natives) have a number of dogs belonging to them which they call Dingo. They do not bark like our dogs but howl. The Governor has one of them that he intends sending home in one of the transports.

The climate is exceeding fine, healthy much more so than expected, for since the landing we have lost only 39 convicts, 3 of the marines, one man from the Supply, and one from us. At the first landing most people had a slight touch of the flux but that soon wore off. It was owing to the confinement some of the convicts had as they have been in gaol some 3, some 4 years. They are at present pretty healthy.

In respect to vegetables we have here are very few. There is a plant very like spinach in England which affords us a most excellent repast with a piece of — I was going to say pork but will call it bacon. There is a sort of beans which are very good but not very plenty...