First Fleet of South Australia


At least nine ships were employed by the South Australian Company in 1836 to carry its staff and the first European settlers from England to the south coast of Australia for the establishment of the City of Adelaide and the province of South Australia.
All nine ships associated with the company were in communication or at least aware of each other during the voyage and were all represented at the proclamation of the new province. The ships began sailing from England in 1836 from January until about June, and arrived on the South Australian coast from July to December that year, when the new province was proclaimed.

Ships

It is difficult for scholars to arrive at a definitive list of pioneer ships given the lack of extant primary evidence due to poor record keeping and accidental loss of records. The following list is based on the best available records, ordered chronologically by date of arrival in South Australia.

Table notes