and his wife, Lucy Stringer. Henry was baptised on 7 December 1756 in Holy Cross Church, Woodchurch, Cheshire. Ball joined the Royal Navy at about 15 years of age and served on various ships: , , , and . On 23 April 1778 Ball was commissioned a lieutenant. From March 1783 until April 1786, he commanded the cutter sailing off the northern coast of Ireland. Colonial service In October 1787, Ball was placed in command of the armed tender as part of the naval escort for the ships of the First Fleet, which was a fleet of ships that transported convicts to start the first European colony in Australia. Supplys armament was increased in 1786 from its original four small 3-pounder cannons and six -pounder swivel guns to include four additional twelve-pounder carronades. The crew was also increased to a total of 55. Additionally, a detachment of 16 marines from the New South Wales Marine Corps, under the command of Lieutenant William Dawes, was embarked. Supply as part of the First Fleet had orders to create a penal colony in Botany Bay, New South Wales. Supply sailed with the First Fleet from Spithead, Portsmouth, on 13 May 1787 under the overall command of Commodore Arthur Phillip. On 3 June 1787, the fleet anchored at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. On 10 June they began their voyage across the Atlantic to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taking advantage of favourable trade winds and ocean currents. The fleet reached Rio on 5 August and remained there for a month while restocking supplies. The fleet departed Rio on 4 September to run before the westerlies, reaching Table Bay (the last port of call before Botany Bay) in South Africa on 13 October. On 25 November, Phillip transferred from to the faster Supply, and with the fleet's faster ships raced ahead to prepare for the arrival of the rest of his command. However, this "flying squadron" reached Botany Bay only hours before the slower members, so no preparatory work was done. Supply reached Botany Bay on 18 January 1788, with the three fastest transports in the advance group arrived on 19 January and the slower ships, including Sirius, arriving on 20 January. After an exploration of the Botany Bay area, it was decided that the area was unsuitable for settlement and the fleet moved to Port Jackson, arriving at a cove Phillip named Sydney Cove