Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Surprize

Merchant ship of 400 tons which was converted to convict transport. It first sailed into Sydney Harbour as part of the infamous Second Fleet and then made a trip to Norfolk Island with 150 convict women from Lady Juliana in August 1790. It did a further journey in 1794 and was later employed as a slave ship and was captured in 1799 in India during the French Revolutionary War.

Milestone
Constructed
Shoreham, England
1780
Arrived Sydney
26 Jun 1790
Departed Sydney
01 Aug 1790
Arrived Sydney
25 Oct 1794
Departed Sydney
15 Nov 1794
Position
1789
1790
1790
1790
1790
1790
1790
1790
1790
1790
1790
1790 - 1791
Aug 1790
Aug 1790 - 07 Aug 1790
01 Aug 1790 - Aug 1790
01 Aug 1790 - 07 Aug 1790
01 Aug 1790 - 07 Aug 1790
01 Aug 1790 - 07 Aug 1790
01 Aug 1790 - 07 Aug 1790
Aug 1790
01 Aug 1790 - 07 Aug 1790
1794
1794
1794
1794
1794
Property
Part of
Type

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'.