JANUARY 1788: ARRIVAL
The voyage from Cape Town to Botany Bay took about eight weeks. It was an
uncomfortable passage as the ships were buffeted by rough seas. There was no
let-up, even on Christmas Day, 1787.
It was Captain Phillip's plan to go on ahead and seek out the best possible
site for the proposed settlement before the main fleet arrived. He therefore
transferred to Supply' and split the convoy into three. Supply' would
proceed alone; the three fastest transports, Alexander', Scarborough' and
Friendship would follow at full speed; and Sirius' would escort the
remainder of the Fleet at the best rate they could muster. As it happened,
'Supply' arrived at Botany Bay on 18 January. The second part of the Fleet
followed within twenty-four hours, and the remainder of the Fleet made its
appearance on the following day.
Phillip was not taken with Botany Bay as the site for his settlement, so he
headed north to Port Jackson where (in his own words) he discovered:
...one of the finest harbours in the world, in which a thousand sail of the
line might ride in perfect security.
By nightfall on 26 JANUARY 1788 Phillip's convoy was safely at anchor in
Sydney Cove, named in honour of Lord Sydney.
For those interested,the first official Christmas DownUnder was celebrated
on the 25th December,1788 at Sydney Cove by Reverend Johnson. After the
service,Governor Arthur Phillips and his officers dined heartily, toasting
King George lll and his family. But for the majority of the first white
inhabitants...the convicts....there was no change to their regular
menu..bread rations only. The only goodwill which seemed to have been
displayed was to Michael Dennison.He was a convict who stole a pound of
flour from Martha Pugh. He was sentenced to 200 lashes by the whip.But since
it was Christmas,only 150 were delivered.
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In January 1796, just eight years from the beginning, a playhouse was
established, a local habitation for that spirit of theatre smuggled in on
the 'Scarborough'. There was nothing makeshift or provisional about it. It
was a proper theatre, Georgian in style, with a pit, a gallery and boxes.
The price of admission was five shillings to a box, two and six to the pit,
a shilling to the gallery. But patrons who had no ready cash could pay in
kind, that is, in meat, flour or spirits.
It was a convict enterprise of the colony's baker, Robert Sidaway, and seems
to have established itself rather more easily than the first church. This
might tell us about the kind of society we were to become. It took the
Reverend Richard Johnson more than five years to get the first church built.
His first Christmas service, in 1793, drew only 35 worshippers. Sidaway's
theatre must have done rather better than that.
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At Christmastime everything in Australia is about eating - and going to the
beach..
On 25 December, thousands of Australians will, as usual, celebrate their
second Christmas of the year. The first is "Christmas in July", when some
pubs and restaurants put on parties complete with red-and-white hats and
tinsel decorations. Alcoholic drinks are usually served.
There are several reasons why "Christmas in July" has become an additional
tradition down under - and trying to offend religious believers is not one
of them. First, there's the traditional motto: "Any exuse for a party".
Second, the custom lets the pubs and restaurants do good business. And
third, Australians have never quite become used to thinking of sleigh bells,
roaring fires, snow and all the rest of the southern hemisphere's summer.
After all, December is usually a hot month in Australia. On 25 December, the
morning sun heats down out of the wide blue sky on to families going to the
beaches, riversides and parks. They are carrying fresh prawns and calamari
for their barbeque, together with cold roast turkey, hams, exotic salads,
cakes and trifle.
To fully understand Christmas in Australia you have to go back to the first
celebrations, 200 or more years ago. Christmas 1768 is believed to be
Australia's first documented connection to the Yuletide celebration. On that
day, Captain James Cook's ship HMS Endeavour was sailing through the South
Atlantic towards Cape Horn.
The next important Christmas was in 1787, when the "First Fleet" of 1,400
convicts, marine guards, civilian officials, and their wives and children
was still on the South Seas, 24 days from landing. Rum played an important
role in the First Fleeter's first Christmas on land the following year, in
1788. Convicts were given extra portions of the drink to go with their
salted beef or pork and biscuits.
The first record of a Christmas Day picnic in Australia dates back 1806,
when Captain John Macarthur and his wife invited their friends to dine with
them at the "charming rural spot" of Cockle Bay, now the Darling Harbour
tourist and commercial centre.
Parrot pie is first recorded as hitting the Christmas table in newly
established Adelaide in 1836. It was served with plum pudding in 100-degree
temperatures.
A few years later, a Melbourne newspaper was more positive, reporting on
what has since become Australia's main Christmas tradition - going to the
beach. Since then, not much has changed - except for the introduction of
Christmas in July, usually celebrated on 25 July. Oh, and the fact that
Australians now design their own Christmas cards. For example, some cards
show kangaroos wearing Santa Claus hats and with colourfully wrapped gifts
in their pouches. One excellent card shows Santa's sleigh and reindeer after
a horrible crash into Sydney Harbour Bridge. Nothing serious, of course.
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In New Zealand:
Samuel Marsden, the first missionary in New Zealand, arrived in the Bay of
Islands on 23 Dec 1814 on board the ship Active. They anchored near
Rangihoua on the North side of the bay. On Christmas Day Marsden held the
first official Christian service in New Zealand, using the text 'Peace on
Earth, Goodwill to All Men'. there is a beautiful New Zealand Christmas
Carol, Te Harinui, which was written by Willow Macky to commemorate this
event. 'Te Harinui' translates into English as 'Great Joy'
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