  On 13 May 1787, a convict fleet of 11 ships left Portsmouth, England, on a
24,000 km, 8-month-long voyage to New South Wales. The voyage would take the
"First Fleet" under Captain Arthur Phillip via Tenerife (Canary Islands), the
port of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Table Bay at the southern extremity of the
African continent and the southernmost cape of present-day Tasmania to their
destination of Botany Bay. Given the navigation tools available at the time and
the small size of the convoy's ships, their safe arrival within a few days of
each other was a phenomenal achievement. This was particularly so, because they
had not lost a single ship and only a relatively small number of crew and
convicts. Phillip and his crew had only been able to ensure their success
because of the presence of crew members who were highly proficient in practical
astronomy, most notably Lieutenant William Dawes. We explore in detail his
educational background and the events leading up to Dawes' appointment by the
Board of Longitude as the convoy's dedicated astronomer-cum-Marine. In addition
to Dawes, John Hunter, second captain of the convoy's flagship H.M.S. Sirius,
Lieutenant William Bradley and Lieutenant Philip Gidley King were also experts
in navigation and longitude determination, using both chronometers and "lunar
distance" measurements. The historical record of the First Fleet's voyage is
remarkably accurate, even by today's standards.
