Captain Arthur Phillip

Evaluate the career of Captain Arthur Phillip in his role as the first Governor.

Captain Arthur Phillip’s role as first Governor of the colony of New South Wales proved to be efficient and successful despite the difficulties. Difficulties included, limited supplies and the soils around Sydney were of poor quality making cultivation difficult. Tools were scarce and the Marines were unsupportive and not at all interested in instilling the discipline the convicts required. Along with these chaotic circumstances Captain Phillip, who was under strict instructions to “form an intercourse with the natives”, met with instances of extreme resistance. Phillip’s success was due to his forward thinking and his optimism. Phillip proved to be an effective,
This policy was to open an “intercourse with the natives”. Phillip ordered all Europeans that arrived in Sydney that the Aboriginal people must be treated well, and any person who killed would be hanged. As crops wilted in the soil and food shortages were becoming apparent, Phillip grew anxious and decided to kidnap several of the natives in order to engage a better understanding of their culture and the countries resources. This showed that Phillip understood the colony was in danger of starvation and took the initiative to find out how the Aboriginal people could help rectify this. Arabanoo was kidnapped first and then Bennelong. Arabanoo later died from small pox, and Bennelong escaped. Months later Phillip approached Bennelong in Manly offering friendship; Phillip was speared – almost fatally – by another native. Phillip held no grudge towards the Aboriginal people. Phillip’s reaction is an indication of his character, which shows he was a humanitarian with empathy and understanding. Alan Frost wrote “The Aboriginals there had a better friend in Phillip then they could have possibly have known”. Phillip succeeded in making contact with the natives and wrote of the Aboriginal people “being as much as home in Sydney as they were in their
Soon more than 20000 bricks were made out of local clay. Brick walls and timber shingles kept the colony’s precious stores protected. Hospitals, huts for the officers, barracks for the troops and Government House were well on the way. Phillip took around 100 convicts to an area that was later to be named Parramatta. This became a wise choice because of the excellent soil. Phillip considered this area “as fine as any I have seen in England”. Phillip also sent a group to Norfolk Island, another excellent decision as by the first spring they had grown many vegetables and grain was looking promising. There was enough food to last at least six months. Phillip introduced the “assignment” in 1789. This was a positive step for the convicts and colonists. They could now be transferred from Government employment into private sector for the officers and settlers. As the first Governor of New South Wales, Phillip was putting his policies and procedures in place. Phillip also ruled that once convicts had completed their sentence they were to be granted small farms. By 1792 it was clear the colony’s difficulties were diminishing. There were more than 4000 colonists in Sydney, Parramatta and on Norfolk