Audio for French Grade 9 students. Documentary.
Natural speed please. Thank you very much!
In 1788 a fleet of ships was sent out by the British government : we now call it the First Fleet. They were under the command of Arthur Philip and they were sent to start a colony for the British here in Sydney. They actually began the colony in Botany Bay which was a spot discovered by James Cook during his explorations. When they got to Botany Bay, they found that it wasn’t quite what they needed for a settlement. After they explored a little more, they found what we call Sydney Harbour and a fresh water stream which was perfect so they decided to set up camp in what we now call Sydney.
People who were on the First Fleet were mostly convicts, they were mostly British people who had been caught for some small crime, like theft, and they were sent as a punishment to the colony in Sydney Cove. With them on the Fleet were soldiers who were to watch over the convicts and of course there were officers who were in charge of everything to make sure the ships sailed the right way and to make sure everything got set up when they got here. And rats, lots and lots of rats.
Between 1788 and eventually 1868 when transportation to the Australian colonies ended, 165,000 men, women and children were transported to the Australian colonies. A journey would take around 120 days, and a really fast journey was 100 days, but sometimes it could take 4 and occasionally 5 months.
