The Prince of Wales was a convict transport ship in the First Fleet. The First Fleet carried the convicts and soldiers to Australia to start a penal colony. The ships left England in May 1787 and arrived in Australia in January 1788. This was the start of European settlement of Australia. The "Prince of Wales" was a ship of 350 tons under the command of John Mason. She was built on the Thames in 1786. She was long and wide. The ship had a contract with the British Government to carry convicts. The owners were paid at a rate of 10 shillings per ton per month until the ship got back to Deptford. They had to agree to keep the prisoners secure and safe. This was the last ship to be chosen for the voyage after the Navy realized that they did not have enough space for the extra people, equipment, and supplies on the ten ships. There was one male convict and forty-nine female convicts which meant that there were only fifty convicts on the ship.