1. Captain Cook … and the Christian Connection

2.  Each ship was like Noah’s Ark.  Animals, supplies and over 1 000 passengers on a 252 day voyage to a new settlement. Preparations

3.  Charles Middleton under the instructions of the English Prime Minister William Pitt was given the task of finding eleven suitable ships.  Pitt considered Middleton “the best man for the job”.  Middleton was opposed to all forms of corruption and his motto was ‘Without religion there can be no public principle.’ Planning for A Successful Maritime Adventure

4.  The letter announcing that New South Wales was to be settled by convicts was signed by Lord Sydney, Home Secretary, on 21 August 1786.  Sydney decreed that the new colony was not to be a military prison, but a civil administration, recognising the property rights of convicts. A Gaol for Convicts?

5.  Arthur Phillip, also laid a humane foundation to the colony with his declaration that ‘there can be no slavery in a free land, and consequently no slaves’. This decree came while slavery was still legal in England and actively being pursued. Arthur Phillip’s Foundation

6.  The contractor for the First Fleet was William Richards Jnr, a friend of Middleton and a Christian.  During the long journey only 48 lives were lost. The 2 nd fleet was contracted to a firm engaged in the slave trade. Five times more deaths occurred (267 of the 1006 convicts) on the second fleet. Getting the Job Done Well

7.  The Rev Richard Johnson, appointed Chaplain to the convicts going to Botany Bay, was introduced to the Board of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. A gift from the Society was the first library to arrive at Port Jackson aboard the HMS Sirius, flagship of the First Fleet. A Library for the Colony

8.  As we read through these accounts of the people involved in the preparation of this venture we notice the Christian connections at so many levels.  The First Fleet, could be arguably one of the greatest nautical achievements of the modern world. All the ships arrived safely within two days of each other. According to Plan