<P> The First Fleet is the name given to the first group of eleven ships that carried convicts from England to Australia in 1788 . Beginning in 1787 the ships departed with about 778 convicts (586 men, 192 women), provisions and agricultural implements . Seventeen convicts died and two were pardoned before departure . Another nine died before reaching Santa Cruz plus another 14 who died before arrival at Port Jackson, during the eight - month trip . </P> <P> In 2005, the First Fleet Garden, a memorial to the First Fleet immigrants was created on the banks of Quirindi Creek at Wallabadah, New South Wales . Stonemason, Ray Collins, researched and then carved the names of all those who came out to Australia on the eleven ships in 1788 on tablets along the garden pathways . The stories of those who arrived on the ships, their life, and first encounters with the Australian country are presented throughout the garden . </P>

How many convicts were there on the first fleet