Talk:Who was Arthur Phillip

While most Australians recognise Arthur Phillip's name, few seem to know much about him.

The ABC's Scott Bevan delves into the story behind the man who became the first governor of New South Wales.

Long before he set sail from Portsmouth in May 1787, in command of 11 ships filled with about 1,400 souls bound for Botany Bay and posterity, Arthur Phillip had led an adventurous life.

Phillip was born in Bread Street in London in 1738, amid the city's bakers and within earshot of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church.

Read more...http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-30/arthur-phillip-uncovering-life-man-built-modern-australia/6581794

Arthur Phillip: Sailor, Mercenary, Governor, Spy
As a captain in the Georgian navy Arthur Phillip’s integrity, intelligence and persistence made him perfectly suited to the role that history and circumstance presented to him in 1788, but landing the First Fleet at Botany Bay was only one of many achievements in a captivating life.

His is a story of political intrigue, eighteenth-century sailing ships, and the race for economic and geographic advancement in a world that was becoming truly international. It is a tale of ambition, of wealthy widows and marriage mistakes; of money and trade, espionage and mercenaries, hardship and illness.

Beyond the facts of discovery and exploration, this book reveals the extraordinary idealism and the influence of the Enlightenment on the founding of Australia. Michael Pembroke provides a compelling portrait of Arthur Phillip.

He carefully weaves together the little-known facts and projects us into life in Georgian England – a time when newly discovered territories were the road to untold wealth.

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