Jacob Nagle’s Journal

Original account from the First Fleet

Below Deck

The First Fleet journal of Jacob Nagle (1762– 1841), written some forty years after the events it describes, provides the perspective of the common sailor. Born in Pennsylvania in America, Nagle joined the crew of the Sirius as Able Seaman in March 1787.

He was one of the sailors who, days after their arrival at Botany Bay, rowed Governor Arthur Phillip and his party to Port Jackson searching for a better site for the Colony. He was aboard the Sirius when it was wrecked at Norfolk Island in March 1790. Unusually for a sailor, he was a good swimmer and greatly involved in helping people ashore and rescuing goods and provisions.

His account of the capture of Bennelong and Coleby differs significantly from that of Lieutenant William Bradley who led the expedition. Where Bradley asserts no guns were used, Nagle records that spears flew and shots were fired by some of the marines.

The Library holds nine of the eleven extant manuscript journals written by those on the First Fleet. In 2009, the journals were officially included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
Display item Jacob Nagle’s Journal

 

< Previous Exhibit | Back to The Exhibits page | Next Exhibit >