<P> On 25 November, Phillip had transferred to the Supply . With Alexander, Friendship and Scarborough, the fastest ships in the Fleet, which were carrying most of the male convicts, the Supply hastened ahead to prepare for the arrival of the rest . Phillip intended to select a suitable location, find good water, clear the ground, and perhaps even have some huts and other structures built before the others arrived . This was a planned move, discussed by the Home Office and the Admiralty prior to the Fleet's departure . However, this "flying squadron" reached Botany Bay only hours before the rest of the Fleet, so no preparatory work was possible . Supply reached Botany Bay on 18 January 1788; the three fastest transports in the advance group arrived on 19 January; slower ships, including Sirius, arrived on 20 January . </P> <P> This was one of the world's greatest sea voyages--eleven vessels carrying about 1,487 people and stores had travelled for 252 days for more than 15,000 miles (24,000 km) without losing a ship . Forty - eight people died on the journey, a death rate of just over three per cent . </P> <P> It was soon realised that Botany Bay did not live up to the glowing account that the explorer Captain James Cook had provided . The bay was open and unprotected, the water was too shallow to allow the ships to anchor close to the shore, fresh water was scarce, and the soil was poor . First contact was made with the local indigenous people, the Eora, who seemed curious but suspicious of the newcomers . The area was studded with enormously strong trees . When the convicts tried to cut them down, their tools broke and the tree trunks had to be blasted out of the ground with gunpowder . The primitive huts built for the officers and officials quickly collapsed in rainstorms . The marines had a habit of getting drunk and not guarding the convicts properly, whilst their commander, Major Robert Ross, drove Phillip to despair with his arrogant and lazy attitude . Crucially, Phillip worried that his fledgling colony was exposed to attack from Aborigines or foreign powers . Although his initial instructions were to establish the colony at Botany Bay, he was authorised to establish the colony elsewhere if necessary . </P> <P> On 21 January, Phillip and a party which included John Hunter, departed the Bay in three small boats to explore other bays to the north . Phillip discovered that Port Jackson, about 12 kilometres to the north, was an excellent site for a colony with sheltered anchorages, fresh water and fertile soil . Cook had seen and named the harbour, but had not entered it . Phillip's impressions of the harbour were recorded in a letter he sent to England later: "the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security ...". The party returned to Botany Bay on 23 January . </P>

What was life like when the first fleet arrived in australia
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