First Fleet journal

May 1787 – March 1791
Manuscript
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952
DLMS 164

By February 1790, the colony was struggling to survive, and the Sirius was again ordered to set sail for supplies, this time to China. The journey, however, was delayed so the ship could take more convicts to Norfolk Island in an effort to reduce the strain on the dwindling supplies in Sydney. On 19 February 1790 the Sirius was wrecked off Norfolk Island and the colony was left with just one ship, the Supply.

Hunter returned to England on the Waaksamheid in March 1791. In England he was court martialled for the loss of the Sirius but was honourably acquitted. A year after his return to England, Hunter published his journal under the title An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island.

In February 1795 Hunter was appointed governor of NSW to succeed Arthur Phillip, but did not return to the colony to take up the post until September of that year.