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A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay

Watkin Tench (1758–1833)

Journal · first published 1789 · London: J. Debrett

A First Fleet marine officer's lively eyewitness account of the voyage and the first months at Sydney Cove.

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About 24,862 words · roughly 1.7 hours of reading (short) · 7 sections online · In: Explorers and journals

Why this is free

In Australia

Watkin Tench (author) died in 1833. Australian copyright then lasted 50 years after the author's death, so it ended on 31 December 1883. The 2005 extension to 70 years did not revive copyright that had already expired.

In the United States

First published in 1789. In the United States, works published before 1 January 1931 are in the public domain.

Our text

Derived from the volunteer transcription published as Project Gutenberg eBook #3535 (public domain in the US). We removed that project's header, footer, licence and trademark text, producer notes and all images, then re-packaged the text. This edition is not affiliated with or endorsed by that project. Our thanks to its volunteers.

Our sectioning, cover and EPUB packaging are dedicated to the public domain (CC0 1.0).

Rights record

rights.json, checked 2026-10-19. Death dates: Watkin Tench (Wikidata, ADB, catalogue). First publication: reference.

Contents

  1. A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay
  2. by
  3. Watkin Tench
  4. Table of Contents
  5. INTRODUCTION
  6. CHAPTER I
  7. From the Embarkation of the Convicts, to the Departure of the Ships from England.
  8. CHAPTER II.
  9. From the Departure, to the Arrival of the Fleet at Teneriffe.
  10. CHAPTER III.
  11. From the Fleet's Arrival at Teneriffe, to its Departure for Rio de Janeiro, in the Brazils.
  12. CHAPTER IV.
  13. The Passage from Teneriffe to Rio de Janeiro, in the Brazils.
  14. CHAPTER V.
  15. From the Arrival of the Fleet at Rio de Janeiro, till its Departure for the Cape of Good Hope; with some Remarks on the
  16. CHAPTER VI.
  17. The Passage from the Brazils to the Cape of Good Hope; with an Account of the Transactions of the Fleet there.
  18. CHAPTER VII.
  19. The Passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Botany Bay.
  20. CHAPTER VIII.
  21. From the Fleet's Arrival at Botany Bay to the Evacuation of it; and taking Possession of Port Jackson. Interviews with t
  22. CHAPTER IX.
  23. The taking Possession of Port Jackson, with the Disembarkation of the Marines and Convicts.
  24. CHAPTER X.
  25. The reading of the Commissions, and taking Possession of the Settlement, in form. With an Account of the Courts of Law,
  26. CHAPTER XI
  27. A Description of the Natives of New South Wales, and our Transactions with them.
  28. CHAPTER XII.
  29. The Departure of the French from Botany Bay; and the Return of the 'Supply' from Norfolk Island; with a Discovery made b
  30. CHAPTER XIII.
  31. Transactions at Port Jackson in the Months of April and May.
  32. CHAPTER XIV.
  33. From the Beginning of June, to the Departure of the Ships for Europe.
  34. CHAPTER XV.
  35. The Face of the Country; its Productions, Climate, &c.
  36. CHAPTER XVI.
  37. The Progress made in the Settlement; and the Situation of Affairs at the Time of the Ship, which conveys this Account, s
  38. CHAPTER XVII.
  39. Some Thoughts on the Advantages which may arise to the Mother Country from forming the Colony.
  40. A list of the Civil and Military Establishments in New South Wales
  41. POSTSCRIPT
  42. FINIS

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