Why the British Government Decided to Colonise Botany Bay

"Why did the British Government decide to colonise Botany Bay?

In the evaluation of why Britain colonised Botany Bay, Australia, one can draw on many conclusions. When the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788, little did they realise that for years to come historians would be contesting the real reasons as to why the British Parliament planned to establish a colony in Botany Bay. The Botany Bay debate, as it has been known to be called, began among historians in the 1950's when Geoffrey Blainey said that it was colonised for strategic motives#. These motives included such plans as there was a plant nursery to be established on Norfolk Island and Australia was to become a flax farm and a market garden that was to be surrounded by goal walls; there had been a failure of the growing of flax and pine on Norfolk Island, this at first had been very promising; and that flax and timber were vital to Britains economy as explained by the British Politicians in many letters. Along with Blainey's argument came another debate, this being that Botany Bay, was colonised as it was a good outpost for trading purposes. The traditional view in the debate was that Botany Bay was the chosen place for the convict population and it is this traditional view that my argument will follow.

The idea of establishing a colony in Botany Bay started with the "Matra's Proposal"# in August 1783. Matra's idea was that there was a possibility of a new colony of the Americans who had remained loyal to Britain during the War of Independence, this idea being rejected by all. Botany Bay was then seen as a solution to the ever growing number of filled rotting convict hulks along the River Thames and the overpopulated goals. The proposal for the establishment of the new colony being "Heads of Plan"# addressed the effective disposal of the convicts to the new colony. With Britain continuing to send convicts to Australia for many decades, the cost involved in transporting the convicts would be greatly decreased and it would be better than dealing with the problem of the overcrowded hulks and goals in England and the costs associated with feeding the convicts etc.

Up until 1776 Britain had been transporting convicts to the American colonies but this practice was stopped with the outbreak of the American War of Independence. Soon

after this Britain passed an act called the "Hulks Act" setting the terms of alternative punishment for convicts and for them to be sentenced to transportation. This shows that transportation was being stopped temporarily, until a more suitable site outside Britain could be found. Botany Bay became the answer. According to "Lord Sydney's letter to the British Treasury"# it was intended to first send 750 convicts and 180 marines, there was no mention of settlers as yet. As such, the convicts were to make up the majority of the people sent to Botany Bay in Australia.

Another very important point to consider is that of the many documents of the time, the majority that could be considered to be from official sources, were concerned with the convict problem. In "Phillips Instructions"# there were many references to the transportation of the convicts to Botany Bay. Both "Phillips Instructions"# and "Governor Phillips first despatch"# referred to the idea that the costs of labour in the new colony would be almost nil as the convicts had to work off both their transport costs and their sentences which would supply cheap labour to the British Government. This would in turn lower the costs of transportation and be better than the previous arrangements of either sending the convicts to America or keeping the convicts in rotting hulks in the Thames River or in goals.

In conclusion, although the ever growing debate of Botany Bay continues, we must

remember that many of the opinions, assumptions and counter arguments presented