Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Second Fleet

Fleet of four transport ships, a supply vessel and a Royal Navy escort carrying over 1500 convicts. Arranged by private contractors the convicts were mistreated and starved and placed a huge strain on the infant colony as over half required hospitalisation on arrival.

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Arrived Sydney
1790
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HMS Guardian

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016

Wrecked en route to Australia, the Second Fleet storeship HMS Guardian left Britain carrying desperately needed stores for the infant settlement in New South Wales.

Justinian

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016

With no convicts on board, the second fleet store ship Justinian completed the voyage to Australia in just five months, entering Port Jackson on 20 June 1790. Justinian brought much needed provisions to the colony where the threat of starvation was great following the demise of the HMS Guardian. However, supplies were soon strained with the arrival of the three transport ships of sick and dying convicts.

Lady Juliana

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016

The second fleet convict transport Lady Juliana, brought over 200 women to the new colony of New South Wales. It was the first female-only transport to arrive in Australia and the first ship to arrive after the first fleet. The women disembarked in comparative good health to those who followed.

Neptune

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016
Neptune, one of three ships known as the 'death fleet,' was the largest ship of the Second Fleet. Chartered by slave traders, Neptune had the highest mortality rate of all the ships, with over 160 deaths. Many of those who survived the ordeal went on to prosper in the new colony including William Baker, George Salter and Molly Morgan.

Scarborough: Second Fleet

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016

Scarborough sailed with the First and the Second Fleet and experienced an attempted mutiny both times. Charted by slave traders along with Neptune and Surprize, the Scarborough became part of the notorious 'death fleet', with around 73 of over 250 convicts dying on board and many hospitalised on arrival.

Surprize

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016
The second fleet vessel Surprize brought 126 sick and malnourished convicts to Sydney, along with the news of 37 deaths en route. It soon became apparent the ordeals suffered on Surprize were common on Neptune and the Scarborough, earning the three ships the moniker of 'the death fleet'.

Second Fleet

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016
The Second Fleet was a term later applied to the second wave of British convict transports and storeships sent to New South Wales in 1789-90. While one of its number failed to reach Sydney's shores, another earned the nickname 'floating brothel' and three other ships were tagged the 'Death Fleet'.

Second Fleet commemoration plaque, The Rocks

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016

A small plaque near Cadman's Cottage in The Rocks is the only Sydney memorial to the arrival of the second group of colonists to enter Port Jackson.