HMS Sirius (1786)

The HMS Sirius was a ship of the Royal Navy. She became famous as the flagship of the First Fleet, which expired in 1787 from England to establish the first European colony in New South Wales in Australia.

She was originally built in 1780 by Watson in Rotherhithe for the East India trade as Berwick. After a fire, it was bought by the Royal Navy, in 1786 rebuilt and then renamed Sirius. She had a displacement of 511 tons.

They sailed under the command of Captain John Hunter. On board were also Arthur Phillip, Governor of the newly established colony, and Major Robert Ross, the commander in charge of guarding the prisoners among the colonists Royal Marines. The ship's doctors were George Bouchier Worgan and Thomas Jamison.

The ship left on 13 May 1787 Portsmouth harbor and arrived in Port Jackson on 26 January 1788. She stayed until October 2, 1788 in the colony and was then sent to the Cape of Good Hope to procure flour and other supplies for the nearly starving colony. This trip took several months.

On March 19, 1790, the Sirius suffered on the reef off Norfolk Iceland shipwreck, while they just put out their charge. This was a disaster for the still starving colony, as only one ship remained to care. The crew sat there firmly until February 21, 1791 until she was rescued and eventually returned to England.

Hunter returned as Governor of New South Wales ( 1795-1799 ). One of the stranded sailors, Jacob Nagle, wrote an eyewitness account of the journey.

The anchor of the Sirius and a cannon were recovered and are now situated in a park at Macquarie Place, Sydney.