“With the entire squadron having arrived safely, this endeavour could, without question, go down in maritime history as one of the great voyages of all time. Eleven vessels carrying some 1400 people had crossed more than 17,000 nautical miles of ocean, much of that distance through hostile and little-known waters. The duration of the passage was 252 days, and while there had been loss of life, the death toll…could be considered extraordinarily low for the era…The deaths included thirty-six male convicts, four female convicts, five children of convicts, one marine, one wife of a marine and one marine’s child. In short, Arthur Phillip had every reason to feel supremely proud of what he had achieved.”1
“With the entire squadron having arrived safely, this endeavour could, without question, g
