It was truly remarkable that the early colony in Sydney actually survived.
Today we take it for granted that the colony not only survived but thrived to become the basis of one of the most successful nations in the world today. But in truth, the New World of the 18th century was dotted with failed colonies. The motley crew of alcoholic marines and bedraggled convicts, which arrived in 1788 at Botany Bay, nearly starved to death and could easily have been murdered by the natives, been overwhelmed by an attack from French or Spanish explorers, or brought undone by one or other of the civil uprisings which punctuated those early years.
David tells the story of the first two decades of Britain's first colony in Australia in a fresh and compelling way.
