Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: Who led the British fleet that first landed in Australia?
The First Fleet was commanded by Commodore Arthur Phillip, who was given instructions authorising him to make regulations and land grants in the colony.[4] The ships arrived at Botany Bay between 18 and 20 January 1788[5]; HMS Supply arrived on 18 January, Alexander, Scarborough and Friendship arrived on 19 January, and the remaining ships on 20 January.[6][7]
With the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day, Australia Day. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the western part of Western Australia (the Swan River Colony) in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia. South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.
Aboriginal reactions to the sudden arrival of British settlers were varied, but often hostile when the presence of the colonisers led to competition over resources, and to the occupation by the British of Aboriginal lands. European diseases decimated Aboriginal populations, and the occupation or destruction of lands and food resources led to starvation. By contrast with New Zealand, where the Treaty of Waitangi was seen to legitimise British settlement, no treaty was signed with Aborigines, who never authorised British colonisation.
The passage was relatively fast, but the mortality rate was the highest in the history of transportation to Australia. Of the 1,038 convicts embarked, 273 died during the voyage (26%) and 486 landed sick. This sits in stark contrast to the mortality rates reported on the First Fleet where "with nearly an equal number of persons, only 24 had died and not thirty landed sick. The difference can be accounted for only by the comparing the manner in which each fleet was fitted out and conducted."
In 1788, when Arndell was 35 years old, he sailed to Australia with the First Fleet as one of seven surgeons, on the "Friendship". These surgeons, led by John White, acted as medical staff, who helped care for the convicts of the First Fleet. He was made in charge of the Parramatta hospital soon after arriving at Port Jackson, and begun to nurture the land there in 1791. In July 1792, he requested to retire and become a settler, as he believed that he would have a better livelihood as a farmer. Arthur Phillip granted Arndell 60 acres of land to farm on around Parramatta. Arndell cleared 21 acres of land by October 1792; he was one of only three people who achieved this. The number of acres he owned increased to 630 by 1806, and 750 by 1807.
The early European exploration and colonisation of Australia often led to violent and deadly conflicts between the original inhabitants, the Aboriginal populations, and Europeans throughout the continent, from the arrival of early European mariners and arrival of the British First Fleet at Sydney in 1788, to the time of the Caledon Bay Crisis of the 1930s. Racism often played a role in this violence, though competition for land and resources and cultural misunderstandings over differing views of such concepts as sacred spaces and property ownership were also common motivators.
In the early decades of the establishment of British colonies in Australia, attitudes to race were imported from the British Isles. The ethnic mix of the early colonists consisted mainly of the four nationalities of the British Isles (England, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh), but also included some Jewish and black African convicts. Sectarianism, particularly anti-Irish-Catholic sentiment was initially enshrined in law, reflecting the difficult position of Irish people within the British Empire. One-tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic and at least half of them were born in Ireland. With Ireland often in revolt against British rule, the Irish enthusiasts of Australia faced surveillance and were denied the public practice of their religion in the early decades of settlement.
The author D. Manning Richards lived and worked in Sydney, Australia, for three years (1973–75) during a period of unprecedented reforms by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, which included returning title ownership to part of the Gurindji indigenous people ancestral lands, removing the last vestiges of the White Australia Policy, and establishing relations with China. "Destiny in Sydney" was inspired by the author’s desire to understand the history of Australia, especially its European birthplace Sydney, and its gradual contentious movement toward multiculturalism. His curiosity led to years of researching the history of Australia, including reading nine of the twelve personal journals of the First Fleet, which placed the first convicts in Australia in 1788.
The first permanent Catholics in Australia came on the First Fleet to Sydney in 1788. One-tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic and at least half of them were born in Ireland. A small proportion of British marines were also Catholic. 
The permanent presence of Catholicism in Australia however, came with the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. One-tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic, and at least half of them were born in Ireland. A small proportion of British marines were also Catholic.
The Invasion of Guadeloupe was a British attempt in 1794 to take and hold the island of Guadeloupe in the West Indies during the 1789-1799 French Revolutionary Wars. The British had negotiated with the French planters, Ignace-Joseph-Philippe de Perpignan and Louis de Curt, who wished to gain British protection, as the French Constitutional Assembly was passing a law abolishing slavery on 4 February, 1794. The Whitehall Accord was signed on 19 February 1794 while the British were securing Martinique in the Battle of Martinique (1794). Troops led by General Charles Grey landed on 11 April 1794, assisted by a fleet led by Admiral Sir John Jervis. On 24 April French General Collot surrendered the last stronghold at Basse-Terre, leaving the island in the hands of the British and their French Royalist supporters. On 4 June a French fleet landed troops under the command of Victor Hugues who, with the assistance of French Republican locals, helped by the effect of yellow fever and other tropical diseases on the British forces, regained full control of the island by 10 December 1794.
Transom was the second of two raids—Operation Cockpit (against Sumatra) being the first—that marked the first big offensive raids by the British Fleet Air Arm in the Far East. The Royal Navy was building the British Pacific Fleet, its naval strength in the Indian Ocean, in preparation for joining the war in the Pacific. Transom provided experience in naval air raids and replenishment at sea. Aeroplanes from the aircraft carrier also took part in the raids on Sumatra and Java, after a joint training exercise with the British ships. Seven land-based B-24 heavy bombers of the 380th Bombardment Group, U.S. Army Air Forces, made a follow-up night attack on Surabaya Harbor, from their base at Corunna Downs Airfield, in Western Australia.
The Fleet Command is led by the Commander Australian Fleet who has overall command of the Fleet and supported by the Director-General Maritime Operations and the Commodore Warfare who have delegated responsibilities for operational command and maritime warfare alongside the Chief of Joint Operations. The principal role of the Fleet Command is to "plan, prepare for, and conduct maritime operations for the protection and promotion of Australia's security and interests". With this directive, the operations carried out or planned by the Commander Australian Fleet or the delegated command staff fall into three distinct categories: defence of sovereign territory, protection of overseas trade and offshore resources, and contingencies.
In early January 1944, "Australia" returned to Milne Bay, before sailing to Sydney on 12 January for an eight-week refit. During the refit, Captain Farncomb was replaced by Captain Emile Dechaineux. On the morning of 7 February, Crutchley transferred his flag to ; the role of Flagship was returned to "Australia" on 21 March, three days after she rejoined Task Force 74 at Milne Bay. On the morning of 20 April, "Australia" and Task Force 74 rendezvoused with three other task forces of the Seventh Fleet off Manus Island: the combined force was to support the amphibious landings at Aitape, Humboldt Bay, and Tanahmerah Bay. The next evening, "Australia" split off with her task force and the attack force for Tanahmerah Bay. The flotilla arrived off the bay at 03:00 on 22 April, and at 06:00, "Australia" led a half-hour shore bombardment to cover the first wave of the amphibious landing. After the bombardment, which allowed the 24th Infantry Division to land with minimal opposition, the warships withdrew to protect the transports. Later in the day, "Australia" led two destroyers along the coastline, destroying any Japanese barges or supply dumps they encountered. Task Force 74 remained in the Hollandia area for the rest of the month to provide support to the landed forces, and arrived in Seeadler Harbour on 4 May.
In 1766 during his first voyage to the Pacific, Royal Navy captain James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast of Australia, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. Seventeen years later, following the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and the flag raised at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788, and the British Crown Colony of New South Wales was formally promulgated on 7 February 1788. Further Crown Colonies were established in Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania) in 1803; Swan River Colony (now known as Western Australia) in 1828; South Australia in 1836; Victoria in 1851; and Queensland in 1859. The six colonies federated in 1901 and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed as a Dominion of the British Empire.
On August 11, at the Battle of Cape Passaro, a British fleet, led by Sir George Byng, attacked and destroyed the Spanish fleet without a declaration of war. On October 13 this British fleet landed an Austrian army, assembled in Naples by the Austrian Viceroy Count Wirich Philipp von Daun near Milazzo, to lift the siege by the Spanish forces. This led to the battle on October 15.
13 May 1787 – The 11 ships of the First Fleet leave Portsmouth under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip. Different accounts give varying numbers of passengers but the fleet consisted of at least 1,350 persons of whom 780 were convicts and 570 were free men, women and children and the number included four companies of marines. About 20% of the convicts were women and the oldest convict was 82. About 50% of the convicts had been tried in Middlesex and most of the rest were tried in the county assizes of Devon, Kent and Sussex 18 January 1788 – The First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay but the landing party was not impressed with the site, and moved the fleet to Port Jackson, landing in Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day) April 1789 – A suspicious outbreak of smallpox decimates local tribes. Research by Michael J Bennett[21] published in 2009, corroborated independently by Christopher Warren[22] in 2013, demonstrates this outbreak was most likely deliberate. 1790 – the Second Fleet of convicts arrives in Sydney Cove. 1791 – Third Fleet of convicts arrives 1793 – January: the first free settlers arrive in NSW. 1793 – March–April: visit of the expedition led by Alessandro Malaspina. 1825 - May: Founding of Brisbane 14 June 1825 – the colony of Van Diemen's Land is established in its own right; its name is officially changed to Tasmania on 1 January 1856. The first settlement was made at Risdon, Tasmania on 11 September 1803 when Lieut John Bowen landed with about 50 settlers, crew, soldiers and convicts. The site proved unsuitable and was abandoned in August 1804. Lieut-Col David Collins finally established a successful settlement at Hobart in February 1804 with a party of about 260 people, including 178 convicts. (Collins had previously attempted a settlement in Victoria.) Convict ships were sent from England directly to the colony from 1812 to 1853 and over the 50 years from 1803–1853 around 67,000 convicts were transported to Tasmania. About 14,492 were Irish but many of them had been sentenced in English and Scottish courts. Some were also tried locally in other Australian colonies. The Indefatigable brought the first convicts direct from England on 19 October 1812 and by 1820 there were about 2,500 convicts in the colony. By the end of 1833 the number had increased to 14,900 convicts of whom 1864 were females. About 1,448 held ticket of leave, 6,573 were assigned to settlers and 275 were recorded as "absconded or missing". In 1835 there were over 800 convicts working in chain-gangs at the penal station at Port Arthur which operated from 1830 to 1877. Convicts were transferred to Van Diemen's Land from Sydney and, in later years, from 1841 to 1847, from Melbourne. Between 1826 and 1840, there were at least 19 ship loads of convicts sent from Van Diemen's Land to Norfolk Island and at other times they were sent from Norfolk Island to Van Diemen's Land. 21 January 1827 – Western Australia was established when a small British settlement was established at King George's Sound (Albany) by Major Edmund Lockyer who was to provide a deterrent to the French presence in the area. On 18 June 1829 the new Swan River Colony was officially proclaimed with Captain James Stirling as the first Governor. Except for the settlement at King George's Sound, the colony was never really a part of NSW. King George's Sound was handed over in 1831. In 1849 the colony was proclaimed a British penal settlement and the first convicts arrived in 1850. Rottnest Island, off the coast of Perth, became the colony's convict settlement in 1838 and was used for local colonial offenders. Around 9,720 British convicts were sent directly to the colony in 43 ships between 1850 and 1868. The convicts were sought by local settlers because of the shortage of labour needed to develop the region. On 9 January 1868, Australia's last convict ship, the Hougoumont brought its final cargo of 269 convicts. Convicts sent to Western Australia were sentenced to terms of 6, 7, 10, 14 and 15 years and some reports suggest that their literacy rate was around 75% as opposed to 50% for those sent to NSW and Tasmania. About a third of the convicts left the Swan River Colony after serving their time. 1835 – the Proclamation of Governor Bourke, issued by the Colonial Office and sent to the Governor with Despatch 99 of 10 October 1835, implements the doctrine of terra nullius upon which British settlement was based. Reinforcing the British assertion that the land belonged to no one prior to the British Crown taking possession of it, it effectively quashes pre-existing treaties with Aboriginal peoples (e.g. that signed by John Batman). Its publication in the Colony means that from then on, all people found occupying land without the authority of the government would be considered illegal trespassers. Aboriginal people therefore could not sell or assign the land, nor could an individual person acquire it, other than through distribution by the Crown.[23] 28 December 1836 – the British province of South Australia was established. In 1842 it became a crown colony and on 22 July 1861 its area was extended westwards to its present boundary and more area was taken from New South Wales. South Australia was never a British convict colony and between 1836–1840 about 13,400 immigrants arrived in the area. 24,900 more arrived between 1841–1850. Some escaped convicts did settle in the area and no doubt a number of ex-convicts moved there from other colonies. On 4 January 1837 Governor Hindmarsh proclaimed that any offenders convicted in South Australia, and being under sentence of transportation, were to be transported to either New South Wales or Van Diemens Land, by the first opportunity.[24] 1841 – New Zealand is separated from New South Wales 1851 – Victoria is separated from New South Wales (formerly known as the Port Phillip District of NSW). Apart from castaways and runaway convicts in the 1790s, the first attempt at settlement was made on 13 October 1803 by Lieut. David Collins and his party of soldiers and convicts. Harsh conditions convinced him to abandon the settlement in January 1804. He moved on to Tasmania and it was not until the Henty brothers landed in Portland Bay on 19 November 1834 and John Batman settled on the site of Melbourne that the Port Phillip District was officially sanctioned on 10 April 1837. The first immigrant ships arrived at Port Phillip in 1839. Apart from those involved in early attempts at settlement in 1803 and 1826, the only convicts sent directly to Victoria from Britain were about 1,750 convicts known as the "Exiles" and they arrived between 1844–1849. They were sometimes called the "Pentonvillians" because most of them came from Pentonville Probationary Prison in England. Many ex-convicts and convicts on Tickets of Leave and Conditional Pardons also moved to Port Phillip from Van Diemen's Land. 10 December 1859 – Queensland is separated from New South Wales. In 1824 the explorer Lieut. John Oxley took a party of 30 convicts and established a penal colony at Redcliffe. Known as the Moreton Bay Settlement, this later moved to the site now called Brisbane. The name Brisbane Town was in use by 1825 and the main inhabitants in the area were the convicts of the Moreton Bay Penal Station until it was closed in 1839. Around 2,280 convicts were sent to the settlement between 1824–1839 and at the end of 1836 the convict population numbered 337. The first free settlers moved to the district in 1838 and others followed in 1840. 23 December 1862 – the area of Queensland is increased. 1863 – control of the Northern Territory is granted to the Province (later State) of South Australia. In 1825 the area occupied today by Northern Territory was incorporated into the colony of New South Wales. It was first settled by Europeans in 1824 at Fort Dundas, Port Essington. Its capital city, Darwin was established in 1869 and was originally known as Palmerston. On 1 January 1911, the Northern Territory as we know it today was separated from South Australia and became part of the Commonwealth of Australia. 1 January 1901 – the Federation of Australian States to form the Commonwealth of Australia. 1911 – The Federal Capital Territory is established.
In 1787, the "First Fleet" of convict ships departed from England to establish the first British settlement in Australia, as a penal colony. The fleet arrived at Port Jackson (Sydney) on 26 January 1788, a date now celebrated as Australia Day. Norfolk Island was a convict penal settlement from 1788–94, and again from 1824-47. The First Fleet included boats containing food and animals from London. The ships and boats of the fleet would explore the coast of Australia by sailing all around it looking for suitable farming land and resources. In 1803, Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania) was also settled as a penal colony, followed by the Moreton Bay Settlement (Queensland) in 1824. The other Australian colonies were "free settlements", as non-convict colonies were known. However, the Swan River Colony (Western Australia) accepted transportation from England and Ireland in 1851, to resolve a long-standing labour shortage. Until the massive influx of immigrants during the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s, the free settlers had been outnumbered by English and Irish convicts and their descendants. However, compared to America, Australia received many more English prisoners.
When the armistice with Germany was signed on 11 November 1918 to end World War I, one of the conditions was that the German High Seas Fleet was to be interred at Scapa Flow. The German fleet crossed the North Sea, and on 21 November, the British Grand Fleet sailed out to meet it; "Australia" led the port division of the fleet. "Australia" then escorted the battlecruiser to Scapa Flow, and was assigned as the German vessel's guardship. "Australia" subsequently formed part of the force which guarded the High Seas Fleet during late 1918 and early 1919, and spent much of her time either at anchor at Scapa Flow, or conducting patrols in the North Sea. This monotonous duty contributed to low morale among some sections of the ship's crew.
After being formally farewelled by the Prince of Wales and First Sea Lord Rosslyn Wemyss on 22 April 1919, "Australia" departed from Portsmouth for home the next day. She sailed in company with for the first part of the voyage, but the light cruiser later had to detach to tow the submarine . "Australia" arrived in Fremantle on 28 May 1919, the first time the ship had seen home waters in four and a half years. Despite returning home, the battlecruiser remained under Admiralty control until 1 August 1919.
The Barony of Lundie is a Scottish feudal Crown barony created during the reign of King David II for John Iles, Baron of Lundie granting him the lands and title of the Baron of Lundie. In June 1489 King James IV confirmed to Andrew, Lord Gray, the lands and Barony of Lundie. A notable holder of the Barony title was Admiral Adam Duncan who led the British fleet to victory against the combined Dutch and French fleet at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797. The title and rights of the Barony of Lundie are currently held by Craig Ward.
Christianity came to Australia with the first British settlers on the First Fleet.[21] Of the convicts and settlers most were Catholics (largely Irish convicts) and Anglicans and a number of them Methodists. The First Fleet brought tensions to Australia fuelled by historical grievances between Catholics and other Christians, tensions that would continue into the 20th century.[22]
Suffren, now safe within the harbour, held council with his captains. Some of them, led by his second-in-command, had persistently opposed offensive actions against the British, and vigorously renewed their objections to the need for combat. Suffren, after confirming that his fleet outnumbered that of Hughes, argued in favor of action, as the destruction of the British fleet would greatly simplify land operations in pursuit of objectives of the French and their Mysorean allies. He accordingly gave orders to sail out and meet the British fleet.
Since time immemorial in Australia, indigenous people had performed the rites and rituals of the animist religion of the Dreamtime. The permanent presence of Christianity in Australia however, came with the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. As a British colony, the predominant Christian denomination was the Church of England, but one-tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic, and at least half of them were born in Ireland.[38]
In January 1945, two further RM Brigades were formed, 116th Brigade and 117th Brigade. Both were conventional Infantry, rather than in the Commando role. 116th Brigade saw some action in the Netherlands, but 117th Brigade was hardly used operationally. In addition one Landing Craft Assault (LCA) unit was stationed in Australia late in the war as a training unit. In 1946 the Army Commandos were disbanded, leaving the Royal Marines to continue the Commando role (with supporting Army elements). A number of Royal Marines served as pilots during the Second World War. It was a Royal Marines officer who led the attack by a formation of Blackburn Skuas that sank the Königsberg. Eighteen Royal Marines commanded Fleet Air Arm squadrons during the course of the war, and with the formation of the British Pacific Fleet were well-represented in the final drive on Japan. Captains and Majors generally commanded squadrons, whilst in one case Lt Colonel R.C. Hay on HMS "Indefatigable" was Air Group Co-ordinator from HMS "Victorious" of the entire British Pacific Fleet.
On 23 September, the Fleet Air Arm dropped propaganda leaflets on the city of Dakar. Then Free French aircraft flew off "Ark Royal" and landed at the airport, but their crews were immediately taken prisoner. A boat with representatives of de Gaulle entered the port, but was fired upon. At 10:00, Vichy ships trying to leave the port were given warning shots from "Australia". As the ships returned to port the coastal batteries opened fire on "Australia". This led to an engagement between the British fleet and the batteries. In the afternoon "Australia" intercepted and fired on the Vichy destroyer , setting her on fire and causing her to be beached.