When did the First Fleet land in Australia?
When did the First Fleet land in Australia?
user
It was on the First of January, 1788.
assistant
What does Australia Day commemorate?
user
Australia Day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove in 1788. The First Fleet, as its name suggests, was the first organised arrival of British convicts and other settlers to Australia, as part of the colony-building project. It's also an important national day in Australia, as the start of its own national history and identity.
assistant
Why were British convicts sent to Australia?
user
The convicts were sent there because it was a penal colony in the South Pacific, with the Australian continent serving as a penal settlement for the British Empire. By that time the British Empire was seeking a new land for the convicts, one that was out of sight from Britain, but the convicts were still held to be British, so it was important to find a land far from the British Isles. Australia and New Zealand were seen as the most suitable locations, and thus it became a place for Britain to ship out its convicts.
assistant
What were conditions like in the Australian penal colonies? Were convicts and free men treated differently?
user