Arthur Phillip
11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814
1786 portrait by Francis Wheatley (National Portrait Gallery, London)
Place of birth	London, England
Place of death	Bath, England
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Admiral
Battles/wars	Seven Years' War Spanish-Portuguese War, 1776-1777 American Revolutionary War
Other work	Governor of New South Wales

Admiral Arthur Phillip RN (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British naval Admiral and colonial administrator. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1738 ( MDCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne Year 1814 ( MDCCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Francis Wheatley ( 1747 - June 28, 1801) was an English Portrait and Landscape painter, was born at Wild London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a State in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1800 The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks of the highest Naval officers The Seven Years' War (1756&ndash1763 involved all of the major European powers of the period causing 900000 to 1400000 deaths In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" The Governor of New South Wales is the representative in the Australian state of New South Wales of Australia's monarch, Elizabeth II, Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks of the highest Naval officers The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1738 ( MDCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne Year 1814 ( MDCCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent,^[1] and was the founder of the site which is now the city of Sydney. The Governor of New South Wales is the representative in the Australian state of New South Wales of Australia's monarch, Elizabeth II, For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4

Early life and naval career

Arthur (Kriddler) Phillip was born in Fulham, England in 1738, the son of Jacob Phillip, a German-born language teacher, and his English wife, Elizabeth Breach, who had remarried after the death of her previous husband, a Royal Navy captain. Fulham (pronounced "fullum" is an area of south-west London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, (the successor to the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Phillip was educated at the school of the Greenwich Hospital and at the age of 13 was apprenticed to the merchant navy.

Phillip joined the Royal Navy at fifteen, and saw action at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in the Mediterranean at the Battle of Minorca in 1756. The Seven Years' War (1756&ndash1763 involved all of the major European powers of the period causing 900000 to 1400000 deaths The Battle of Minorca ( May 20 1756) was a Franco - Spanish naval defeat of a British fleet leading to the Court-martial In 1762 he was promoted to Lieutenant, but was placed on half pay when the Seven Years War ended in 1763. Lieutenant (abbreviated Lt or Lieut) is a Military, Naval, Paramilitary, Fire service, Emergency medical services During this period he married, and farmed in Lyndhurst, Hampshire. Lyndhurst is the largest village within the New Forest, Hampshire, England. Wildlife Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain

In 1774 Phillip joined the Portuguese Navy as a captain, serving in the War against Spain. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. While with the Portuguese Phillip conveyed a fleet of convict ships from Portugal to Brazil, with a very low death rate, and this may have been the reason for the surprise choice of Phillip to lead the expedition to Sydney. In 1778 England was again at war, and Phillip was recalled to active service, and in 1779 obtained his first command, the Basilisk. He was promoted to captain in 1781, and was given command of the Europe, but in 1784 he was back on half pay.

Governor of New South Wales

Then, in October 1786, Phillip was appointed captain of HMS Sirius and named Governor-designate of New South Wales, the proposed British penal colony on the east coast of Australia, by Lord Sydney, the Home Secretary. See HMS ''Sirius'' for other ships of this name Berwick was built by Watsons of Rotherhithe in 1780 for the Baltic trade A penal colony is a Settlement used to detain Prisoners and generally use them for Penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's Thomas Townshend 1st Viscount Sydney ( 24 February 1732 - 30 June 1800) was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office His choice may have been strongly influenced by George Rose, Under-Secretary of the Treasury and a neighbour of Phillip in Hampshire who would have known of Phillip's farming experience. George Rose ( 17 June 1744 &ndash 13 January 1818) was a British Politician.

Phillip had a very difficult time assembling the fleet which was to make the eight-month sea voyage to Australia. Everything a new colony might need had to be taken, since Phillip had no real idea of what he might find when he got there. There were few funds available for equipping the expedition. His suggestion that people with experience in farming, building and crafts be included was rejected. Most of the 772 convicts (of whom 732 survived the voyage) were petty thieves from the London slums. Phillip was accompanied by a contingent of marines and a handful of other officers who were to administer the colony. The Royal Marines ( RM) are the marine corps and amphibious Infantry of the United Kingdom and along with the Royal Navy

The First Fleet, of 11 ships, set sail on 13 May 1787. The First Fleet is the name given to the 11 Ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales. Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. Year 1787 ( MDCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The leading ship reached Botany Bay^[2] on 18 January 1788. Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Phillip soon decided that this site, chosen on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks, who had accompanied James Cook in 1770, was not suitable, since it had poor soil, no secure anchorage and no reliable water source. Sir Joseph Banks 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS (13 February 1743 &ndash 19 June 1820 was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and After some exploration Phillip decided to go on to Port Jackson, and on 26 January the marines and convicts were landed at Sydney Cove, which Phillip named after Lord Sydney. Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney Australia Events 1340 - King Edward III of England is declared King of France. Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson (commonly but incorrectly called Sydney Harbour) on the coast of the state of New South Thomas Townshend 1st Viscount Sydney ( 24 February 1732 - 30 June 1800) was a British politician who held several important Cabinet posts in

Shortly after establishing the settlement at Port Jackson, on 15 February 1788, Phillip sent Lieutenant Philip Gidley King with 8 free men and a number of convicts to establish the second British colony in the Pacific at Norfolk Island. Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Philip Gidley King RN (23 April 1758 &ndash 3 September 1808 was an British naval officer and colonial administrator Norfolk Island ( Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small inhabited island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand This was partly in response to a perceived threat of losing Norfolk Island to the French and partly to establish an alternative food source for the new colony.

The early days of the settlement were chaotic and difficult. With limited supplies, the cultivation of food was imperative, but the soils around Sydney were poor, the climate was unfamiliar, and moreover very few of the convicts had any knowledge of agriculture. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Farming tools were scarce and the convicts were unwilling farm labourers. The colony was on the verge of outright starvation for an extended period. Starvation (also called inanition) is a severe reduction in Vitamin, Nutrient, and Energy intake and is the most extreme form of The marines, poorly disciplined themselves in many cases, were not interested in convict discipline. Almost at once, therefore, Phillip had to appoint overseers from among the ranks of the convicts to get the others working. This was the beginning of the process of convict emancipation which was to culminate in the reforms of Lachlan Macquarie after 1811. Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB (31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824 Scottish Gaelic spelling Lachlan MacGuaire) British military officer

Phillip showed in other ways that he recognised that New South Wales could not be run simply as a prison camp. Lord Sydney, often criticised as an ineffectual incompetent, had made one fundamental decision about the settlement that was to influence it from the start. Instead of just establishing it as a military prison, he provided for a civil administration, with courts of law. Two convicts, Henry and Susannah Kable, sought to sue Duncan Sinclair, the captain of Alexander, for stealing their possessions during the voyage. Henry Kable (1763-1846 was born in Laxfield Suffolk, England. Convicts in Britain had no right to sue, and Sinclair had boasted that he could not be sued by them. Someone in Government obviously had a quiet word in Kable's ear, as when the court met and Sinclair challenged the prosecution on the ground that the Kables were felons, the court required him to prove it. As all the convict records had been left behind in England, he could not do so, and the court ordered the captain to make restitution. Phillip had said before leaving England: "In a new country there will be no slavery and hence no slaves," and he meant what he said. Nevertheless, Phillip believed in discipline, and floggings and hangings were commonplace, although Philip commuted many death sentences.

Arthur Phillip

Phillip also had to adopt a policy towards the Eora Aboriginal people, who lived around the waters of Sydney Harbour. The traditional owners of the inner Sydney City region of Australia are the Cadigal people one of the peoples who belong to the Eora language group This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney Australia Phillip ordered that they must be well-treated, and that anyone killing Aboriginal people would be hanged. Phillip befriended an Eora man called Bennelong, and later took him to England. Bennelong (c 1764 - 3 January 1813) (also "Baneelon" was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal ( Koori On the beach at Manly, a misunderstanding arose and Phillip was speared in the shoulder: but he ordered his men not to retaliate. Manly is a Suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Phillip went some way towards winning the trust of the Eora, although the settlers were at all times treated extremely warily. Soon, smallpox and other European-introduced epidemics ravaged the Eora population. Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor.

The Governor's main problem was with his own military officers, who wanted large grants of land, which Phillip had not been authorised to grant. The officers were expected to grow food, but they considered this beneath them. As a result scurvy broke out, and in October 1788 Phillip had to send Sirius to Cape Town for supplies, and strict rationing was introduced, with thefts of food punished by hanging. Scurvy (NLat scorbutus is a disease resulting from a deficiency of Vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of Collagen in humans Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the

Stabilising the colony

By 1790 the situation had stabilised. The population of about 2,000 was adequately housed and fresh food was being grown. Phillip assigned a convict, James Ruse, land at Rose Hill (now Parramatta) to establish proper farming, and when Ruse succeeded he received the first land grant in the colony. James Ruse (9 August 1759 &ndash 5 September 1837 was a pioneer of Agriculture in Australia being the first to successfully grow grain in the early colony Parramatta (ˈpærɑːmætɑː is a suburb in the west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Other convicts followed his example. Sirius was wrecked in March 1790 at the satellite settlement of Norfolk Island, depriving Phillip of vital supplies. Norfolk Island ( Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small inhabited island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand In June 1790 the Second Fleet arrived with hundreds more convicts, most of them too sick to work. The Second Fleet frequently is regarded as being the group of four ships which arrived together at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson, New South Wales in late

Statue of Arthur Phillip in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney Australia are the largest of three major botanical gardens open to the public in Sydney along with the Mount Annan Botanic Garden

By December 1790 Phillip was ready to return to England, but the colony had largely been forgotten in London and no instructions reached him, so he carried on. In 1791 he was advised that the government would send out two convoys of convicts annually, plus adequate supplies. But July, when the vessels of the Third Fleet began to arrive, with 2,000 more convicts, food again ran short, and he had to send a ship to Calcutta for supplies.

By 1792 the colony was well-established, though Sydney remained an unplanned huddle of wooden huts and tents. The whaling industry was established, ships were visiting Sydney to trade, and convicts whose sentences had expired were taking up farming. Whaling is the hunting of Whales and dates back to at least 6000 BC John Macarthur and other officers were importing sheep and beginning to grow wool. John Macarthur (1766 – 11 April 1834 was a soldier entrepreneur politician and pioneer of the Australian Wool industry The colony was still very short of skilled farmers, craftsmen and tradesmen, and the convicts continued to work as little as possible, even though they were working mainly to grow their own food.

In late 1792 Phillip, whose health was suffering from the poor diet, at last received permission to leave, and on 11 December 1792 he sailed in the ship Atlantic, taking with him Bennelong and many specimens of plants and animals. Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office Year 1792 ( MDCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The European population of New South Wales at his departure was 4,221, of whom 3,099 were convicts. The early years of the colony had been years of struggle and hardship, but the worst was over, and there were no further famines in New South Wales. Phillip arrived in London in May 1793. He tendered his formal resignation and was granted a pension of £500 a year.

Later life

Phillip's wife, Margaret, had died in 1792. In 1794 he married Isabella Whitehead, and lived for a time at Bath. Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. His health gradually recovered and in 1796 he went back to sea, holding a series of commands and responsible posts in the wars against the French. In January 1799 he became a Rear-Admiral. In 1805, aged 67, he retired from the Navy with the rank of Admiral of the Blue, and spent most of the rest of his life at Bath. Please see “ Admiral ” for other nations which use this rank He continued to correspond with friends in New South Wales and to promote the colony's interests with government officials. He died in Bath in 1814.

The Australia Chapel in St Nicholas Church, Bathampton, near Bath, England. Bathampton is a village and Civil parish east of Bath, England on the south bank of the River Avon. Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The memorial to the first governor of New South Wales (Arthur Phillip) is on the right hand wall

Phillip was buried in St Nicholas's Church, Bathampton. Bathampton is a village and Civil parish east of Bath, England on the south bank of the River Avon. Forgotten for many years, the grave was discovered in 1897^[3] and the Premier of New South Wales, Sir Henry Parkes, had it restored. Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896 was an Australian statesman the "Father of Federation A monument to Phillip in Bath Abbey Church was unveiled in 1937. The Abbey Church of Saint Peter Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican Parish church and a former Benedictine Monastery Another was unveiled at St Mildred's Church, Bread St, London, in 1932; that church was destroyed in the London Blitz in 1940, but the principal elements of the monument were re-erected in St Mary-le-Bow at the west end of Watling Street, near Saint Paul's Cathedral, in 1968. The Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941 in World War II. St Mary-le-Bow is an historic church in the City of London, off Cheapside. St Paul's Cathedral, is the Anglican Cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. ^[4] There is a statue of him in the Botanic Gardens, Sydney. The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney Australia are the largest of three major botanical gardens open to the public in Sydney along with the Mount Annan Botanic Garden There is a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

His name is commemorated in Australia by Port Phillip, Phillip Island (Victoria), Phillip Island (Norfolk Island), the federal electorate of Phillip (1949-1993), the suburb of Phillip in Canberra, and many streets, parks and schools. "Port Phillip" may also refer to a Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip. Phillip Island is located about 140km away from Melbourne Named after Governor Arthur Phillip, Phillip Island in Victoria Phillip Island is an uninhabited island located at, 6 km south of Norfolk Island in the Southwest Pacific, and part of the Norfolk Island group The Division of Phillip was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. Phillip (postcode 2606 is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Woden. Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. Note: Port Arthur, Tasmania is not named after Arthur Phillip. Port Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass

Percival Alan Serle wrote of Phillip in the Dictionary of Australian Biography: "Steadfast in mind, modest, without self seeking, Phillip had imagination enough to conceive what the settlement might become, and the common sense to realize what at the moment was possible and expedient. Percival Serle ( 18 July 1871 – 16 December 1951) was an Australian biographer and bibliographer. When almost everyone was complaining he never himself complained, when all feared disaster he could still hopefully go on with his work. He was sent out to found a convict settlement, he laid the foundations of a great dominion. "

Loss of remains

In 2007, Geoffrey Robertson QC revealed that Phillip's remains are no longer in St Nicholas Church, Bathampton and have been lost: ". Geoffrey Ronald Robertson QC (born 30 September 1946 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian human rights . . Captain Arthur Phillip is not where the ledger stone says he is: it may be that he is buried somewhere outside, it may simply be that he is simply lost. But he is not where Australians have been led to believe that he now lies. "^[5] Robertson also believes it was a "disgraceful slur" on Phillip's legacy that he wasn't buried in one of England's great cathedrals and was relegated to a small village church. This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral Robertson is campaigning for a rigorous search for the remains, which he believes should be re-interred in Australia.

Popular Culture

Phillip is a prominent character in Timberlake Wertenbaker's play Our Country's Good, in which he commissions Lieutenant Ralph Clark to stage a production of The Recruiting Officer. Lael Louisiana Timberlake Wertenbaker (born 1944 is an America-born British playwright Our Country's Good is a 1988 play written by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel The Playmaker The Recruiting Officer is a 1706 play by the Irish writer George Farquhar, which follows the social and sexual exploits of two officers the womanising Plume and the He is shown as compassionate and just, but receives little support from his fellow officers.

Gallery

The Arthur Phillip memorial on the wall of the Australia Chapel, Bathampton

Bathampton Memorials

Bust of Phillip at St Mary's

See also

• Dangar Island
• Hawkesbury River
• Spectacle Island
• Milson Island
• Peat Island
• Lion Island

References

External links

• Works by Arthur Phillip at Project Gutenberg
• Arthur Phillip High School, Parramatta - state high (years 7-12) school named for Phillip
• B. H. Fletcher, 'Phillip, Arthur (1738 - 1814)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 326-333. Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney Australia Norfolk Island ( Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small inhabited island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Parramatta (ˈpærɑːmætɑː is a suburb in the west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB or AuDB is a multi-volume project published by Melbourne University Press. Melbourne University Publishing (MUP is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne ( Australia)