#SerenityInOz—a quiz about Australian stuff— Thurs 22 Jan, 2026
Warning; Questions about Colonisers and #FirstFleet

(Please boost for reach, and CW your answers)

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today there are several questions of varying degrees of difficulty;

i was a captain in the british royal navy
i was appointed commodore of the first fleet
and i was first Captain General and Chief Governor of the new colony of new south wales
i returned to england in 1792, with kidney stones

who am i?
from which port in england did the fleet set sail?
how many ships in the fleet?
which of the fleet ships was I on when i left england?
which ship was i on when I first arrived?
where did we first land?

finally…
i might be the first anglo known to have said
“yeah nah” on the soil of what-came-to be-called-australia
when i said this, i decided we should all pack up and relocate to a new spot 20km north (by sea).
what date did we arrive at the new spot?

Arthur Phillip
Plymouth
11
HMS Sirius
HMAT Supply

Botany Bay is named Kamay in the Dharawal language the original people of Sydney were the Eora, the Dharawal, and the Dharug, who comprised at least 28 known clans with traditional boundaries. The clans of the Botany Bay area were the Gweagal who occupied the south shore and the Kamaygal on the north shore. It is possible that the Bidjigal clan lived between the Cooks River and the Georges River, but the evidence for this is unclear.
On 26 January 1788, the Fleet weighed anchor and sailed to Port Jackson.[41] The site selected for the anchorage had deep water close to the shore, was sheltered, and had a small stream flowing into it. Phillip named it Sydney Cove, after Lord Sydney, the British Home Secretary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Fleet

First Fleet - Wikipedia

@maudenificent Captain Arthur Phillip. Botany Bay then Port Phillip Bay 26 jan 1788. Dunno the rest.

@sister_ratched

⚓️ well done. i had to look most of it up 😎

@maudenificent feck the British colonisers (I are one, by descent)

* NFI William Bligh
* Southampton, more likely Portsmouth
* three
* the first one
* another one
* on a beach
* my son's birthday, but a different year

There y'go. Almost worse than a forfeit.

@gerg

⚓️ for the rhyme (are you an ancient mariner?)
⚓️ IYKYK
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@maudenificent I'm not sure if I was saying that _I_ had NFI or that Bligh had NFI. Both might be true, given Bligh's leadership record.