Question: what was life like when the first fleet arrived in australia

title: First Fleet
text: It was soon realised that Botany Bay did not live up to the glowing account that the explorer Captain James Cook had provided . The bay was open and unprotected , the water was too shallow to allow the ships to anchor close to the shore , fresh water was scarce , and the soil was poor . First contact was made with the local indigenous people , the Eora , who seemed curious but suspicious of the newcomers . The area was studded with enormously strong trees . When the convicts tried to cut them down , their tools broke and the tree trunks had to be blasted out of the ground with gunpowder . The primitive huts built for the officers and officials quickly collapsed in rainstorms . The marines had a habit of getting drunk and not guarding the convicts properly , whilst their commander , Major Robert Ross , drove Phillip to despair with his arrogant and lazy attitude . Crucially , Phillip worried that his fledgling colony was exposed to attack from Aborigines or foreign powers . Although his initial instructions were to establish the colony at Botany Bay , he was authorised to establish the colony elsewhere if necessary . An 

Answer: answer: The bay was open and unprotected , the water was too shallow to allow the ships to anchor close to the shore , fresh water was scarce , and the soil was poor . The area was studded with enormously strong trees . When the convicts tried to cut them down , their tools broke. The primitive huts built for the officers and officials quickly collapsed in rainstorms . The marines had a habit of getting drunk and not guarding the convicts properly , whilst their commander , Major Robert Ross , drove Phillip to despair with his arrogant and lazy attitude .