|
March 14, 2007
On 13 May 1787 eleven ships, now commonly referred to as The First Fleet, set sail from Portsmouth to establish a colony in New South Wales, Australia. They reached their destination on 18 January 1788. One of the unplanned but long-lasting outcomes of this event was the large number of outstanding drawings of aboriginal people, the environment and wildlife found on arrival as well as of the early foundation of the colony.
Some of these images are held by the Natural History Musem in London, including:
John Hunter (attrib), The SW Cape bearing NNW 1/2 W about 3 Leagues, Tasmania, 1788
Since no professional artists had been assigned to the First Fleet, it fell mainly to the naval men, trained in the art of chart-making and the drawing of coastal profiles, to construct a visual record of their journey.
|
