Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Journal kept on the Friendship during a voyage to Botany Bay and Norfolk Island; and on the Gorgon returning to England, 9 March 1787–10 March 1788, 15 February 1790–17 June 1792

Journal kept on the Friendship during a voyage to Botany Bay and Norfolk Island; and on the Gorgon returning to England, 9 March 1787–10 March 1788, 15 February 1790–17 June 1792

Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW; Purchased from Sotheby’s, London, 1914; Safe 1/27a

Manuscript

Clark Island in Sydney Harbour was named after Ralph Clark, who travelled with the First Fleet.
While in New South Wales, Ralph Clark formed a relationship with a convict woman, Mary Branham, with whom he had an illegitimate daughter born in 1791.
Ralph Clark was born around 1755 and died in 1794.
After Ralph Clark and his wife, Betsey Alicia died, the family kept his journal until it was acquired by the State Library of NSW in 1914.
Ralph Clark’s journal is a particularly personal account of the First Fleet, filled with his dreams, fears, homesickness and his longing for his wife, Betsey Alicia, and their young son.
Ralph Clark travelled with the First Fleet and was associated with the Friendship, one of the convict transports for female prisoners.