Page 10 - eMuse Vol.9 No.01_Classical

Tragic Death Fleet

It should have been

renewed hope for a

starving colony . . .

Colonial Sydney hovered on On shore excitement of an- bear it . . . The landing of these controlling power to check their
the brink of disaster. An ever ticipated relief quickly changed people was truly affecting and enormities.”
present awareness of impending to shocked disbelief as nearly shocking; great numbers were Of 928 male convicts on the
starvation was becoming more dead men suffering from ex- not able to walk, nor to move Neptune, Scarborough and Sur-
and more prevalent as supplies cessive abuse, rampant dis- hand or foot; such were slung prize, 26 per cent died on the
dwindled to an alarming low ease, and, starvation struggled over the ship side in the same voyage and nearly 40 per cent
level. ashore. Some actually died in manner as they would a cask, a were dead within months of
Seeds intended to grow their feeble, futile attempts to box, or anything of that nature. their arrival in the colony. This
crops were ruined en route; cat- disembark. “Upon their being brought shocking mortality rate was
tle and horses escaped into the nearly ten times that of the First
bush; food held in storage was Fleet voyage.
not going to last much longer. The First Fleet arrived in
Daily rations were drastically NSW with a mortality rate of
reduced but desperate meas- 5.4 per cent. The Second Fleet
ures were only delaying the arrived in NSW with a mortality
inevitable. The colony would rate of 40 per cent.
soon run out of food. Overall, 267 people died at sea
Then on 3rd June 1790 the and at least 150 died shortly after
first of six ships of the Second arrival. How could a planned re-
Fleet arrived. Sydney-siders lief go so horribly wrong?
were elated. Their salvation had The six ships of the Second
arrived in the nick of time. Fleet were: HMS Guardian,
But their joy was short-lived. Scarborough (which was also
As the rest of the fleet anchored one of the First Fleet ships),
over the next three weeks or so, Neptune, Surprize, Justinian,
the full extent of the horror was and the Lady Juliana.
progressively revealed. Second Fleet transport the Neptune. Dubbed the “Hell Ship” The Guardian was well
Their hoped for resupply fell equipped with much needed
well short of the mark. Further of the infamous “Death Fleet”. supplies and plants. After de-
compounding their troubles, First Fleet’s Chaplain, Rever- up to the open air some faint- parting from Cape Town en
new convict arrivals were in such end Richard Johnson, witnessed ed, some died upon deck, and route she struck an iceberg,
a deplorable condition these in- the landing of the Second Fleet others in the boat before they cargo was jettisoned, and, most
coming ships were dubbed the from 26–28 June, 1790: reached the shore. Some crept of the convicts and crew took to
“Death Fleet”. “I beheld a sight truly shock- upon their hands and knees, life boats.
Few convicts could stand ing to the feelings of humanity, and some were carried upon With its remaining skeleton
upright and those that couldn’t a great number of them laying, the backs of others.” crew, the badly damaged ship
crawl to shore were flung like some half, others nearly quite Another First Fleet officer, managed to return to Cape
sacks of flour overboard. Wit- naked, without either bed or Captain Watkin Tench, in his Town where it was beached
nesses reported seeing men bedding, unable to turn or help book on the colony, wrote that and sold for scrap. Desperately
with gaping wounds so deep themselves. the ship captains and contrac- needed supplies for Sydney
from wearing irons for the du- “Spoke to them as I passed tors had: “violated every princi- were lost at sea.
ration of the voyage, you could along, but the smell was so of- ple of justice, and rioted on the Convict life was never easy
see their bones. fensive that I could scarcely spoils of misery, for want of a or meant to be easy. However,

10 eMuse January 2020