<P> The First Fleet was the 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth , England , on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia . The Fleet consisted of two Royal Navy vessels , three store ships and six convict transports , carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts , marines , seamen , civil officers and free people ( accounts differ on the numbers ) , and a vast quantity of stores . From England , the Fleet sailed southwest to Rio de Janeiro , then east to Cape Town and via the Great Southern Ocean to Botany Bay , arriving over the period of 18 to 20 January 1788 , taking 250 to 252 days from departure to final arrival . </P>
<P> The First Fleet was the 11 ships that departed from Portsmouth , England , on 13 May 1787 to found the penal colony that became the first European settlement in Australia . The Fleet consisted of two Royal Navy vessels , three store ships and six convict transports , carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts , marines , seamen , civil officers and free people ( accounts differ on the numbers ) , and a vast quantity of stores . From England , the Fleet sailed southwest to Rio de Janeiro , then east to Cape Town and via the Great Southern Ocean to Botany Bay , arriving over the period of 18 to 20 January 1788 , taking 250 to 252 days from departure to final arrival . </P>
when did the first fleet arrived in aus
when did the first fleet arrived in aus
18 to 20 January 1788
18 to 20 January 1788