The records of the actual numbers of persons landed in January
1788 are inconsistent, but of the total of approximately 1,000
souls, some 750 were convicts and their children; the remaining
250 or so were marines and their families. Research by many
historians continues to reveal fascinating glimpses into the
lives of those ‘First Fleeters’. Some brief notes of those more
prominent are as follows: Thomas WATLING was the first
professional artist to arrive in the colony (Royal Admiral 1792)
and was seconded to the Surgeon General, John White who was an
amateur naturalist. His paintings are one of the principal
records of the earliest days of Australia. ‘Letters from an
exile at Botany Bay’ gives an irreverent informal account of his
life in the early years of the colony. The full text of the book
is online in the Australian Literature Database. William
REDFERN, a ship’s doctor, was tried for his involvement in
mutiny over bad pay and conditions in the navy. He was
transported in 1801 on the Minorca, sent to No