Fragment of a contemporary fair copy of Governor Arthur Phillip's Sydney journal

The manuscript begins mid-sentence in October 1791 and runs to the end of November, breaking off mid-sentence at the bottom of the tenth page before starting again in January 1792 and running to the end of February in a further ten pages. There are two neat manuscript corrections on the 5th and 11th pages.

Information contained in the first ten pages of the manuscript includes an account of the attempted mutiny on board the Albemarle (p. 1, October 1791); the arrival of more convicts on the Admiral Barrington and the total number of convicts in the colony (p. 2, October 1791); the great numbers of spermaceti whales and the departure of whaleships (pp. 2-3, October 1791); the shortage of flour (p. 3, October 1791); the sending of settlers and convicts to Norfolk Island on the Atlantic (p. 4, October 1791); the return of the whaleship Britannia with reports of bad weather (pp. 5-6, November 1791); mention of barley and wheat crops (p. 6, November 1791); the departure of the Supply for England (p. 7, November 1791); the increase in the number of sick convicts in Parramatta and Sydney (pp. 7-8, November 1791); poor growing conditions and lack of knowledgeable farmers (pp. 8-9, November 1791); and comments on the most recent convicts (pp. 9-10, November 1791).

Information contained in the last ten pages of the manuscript includes the account of the visit of ‘Gome-ber-re’ [now referred to as Gomebeeree or Gomebeere, a man of the Boorooberongal Clan of the Dharug people] from the banks of the Hawkesbury [Dyarubbin], to Sydney (pp. 13-14, January 1792). Referring to an encounter with Gomebeeree ‘in a former part of this journal’ (in April 1791, recorded in Chapter 21, pp. 512-523 of the Hunter Journal), at which time he had ‘promised to take a journey to Sydney’, these pages of the manuscript recount that now, in January 1792, Gomebeeree had in fact made two visits to Sydney. Phillip missed the first Sydney visit as he was in Parramatta, but met him on the second visit. Gomebeeree stayed the night with 'Bannelong' [Bennelong] at Tubugulha [now known as Bennelong Point] where they had a dance. He left early next morning to return to the banks of the Hawkesbury.

The pages also cover the population counts of Parramatta and Norfolk Island (pp. 11-12, January 1792); the issue of convicts whose sentences had expired returning to England, including those who were not authorized to do so (pp. 14-16, January 1792); the theft of crops (pp. 16-17, January 1792); the formation of a night patrol composed of eight marines to protect the crops (p. 18, January 1792); the idleness and weakness of convicts who are unable to work (pp. 18-19, January 1792); number of deaths in January (p. 19, January 1792); the hanging of a man convicted of robbing the baker's house (p. 19, January 1792); the state of the wheat crop and issuing of additional wheat and rice rations (pp. 19-20, January-February 1792); and the arrival of the Pitt in February 1792 with Major Grose, the Commander of the New South Wales Corps (p. 20, February 1792).

Fragment of a contemporary fair copy of Governor Arthur Phillip's Sydney journal

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