First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the 11 ships that sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787, to start the first European colony in New South Wales. It was the beginning of a plan to send thousands of prisoners to Australia to make convict settlements. The fleet was led by Captain Arthur Phillip. This journey lasted eight months, and used a route across the oceans that had only been used three times; once by Abel Tasman and twice by James Cook.