2. An empty continent, whose whereabouts Captain Cook had made known, was waiting to receive any who came from our shores; but it was situated on the opposite side of the globe, twelve thousand miles away. At length, in spite of the distance, Australia was selected as a suitable place for our convicts. And in May, 1787, the first convoy set sail. It carried nearly 800 convicts, with a guard of 200 marines, and was placed under the command of Captain Phillip, who had been appointed governor of the new settlement. 3. The voyage lasted eight months, and in January, 1788, the fleet arrived at Port Jackson, which struck the new-comers as "the finest harbour in the world." All being landed, governor Phillip gathered his subjects around him and made them a little speech, in which he tried to inspire the convicts with new hope, and to make them feel that their future fortune was in their own keeping. He also reminded the marines that after three years' service, they would be at liberty to settle there as colonists with free gifts of land for cultivation. The ships fired three salutes, and the rest of the day was spent as a holiday. 4. This was the last cheery time for many years to come in the lives of the settlers. Hard times lay before them. The first settlement was made on the site of Sydney. The task which lay before the governor was a gigantic one; roads to make, trees to fell, houses to build, crops to plant; and the men and women to help him in the work, for the most part idle and dishonest. Indeed, many of them, as the governor said, "dread punishment less than they fear labour." To add to his troubles, for the first two years a great drought, aided by a fiery sun, baked the soil till it became hard and sterile. The settlers had brought with them seeds and cattle as well as stores of provisions; but the seeds failed to grow, and the cattle broke loose and were lost in the "bush." 5. Within a few months the danger of starvation came so near that the whole colony was put on short rations. To the credit of the governor, in this time of distress, he threw his own private stock into the common store, and shared alike with the rest. To lessen the chance of starving, the governor sent a large party by sea to Norfolk Island, where the soil was less sterile, and more food could be obtained by fishing and fowling. There also it became necessary to collect all private stores of food, and to throw them into one common stock, and deal out a certain quantity daily to each person.