HISTORY repeated itself when nine square-rigged vessels sailed into Botany Bay in 1988, exactly 200 years after Captain Arthur Phillip’s First Fleet.
The re-enactment, on January 18, was a curtain-raiser to the main event on January 26, when the fleet moved on to Sydney Harbour, sparking massive bicentennial celebrations.
Hundreds of colourful spectator boats jammed the entrance to Botany Bay, while thousands packed headlands at Kurnell and La Perouse to welcome the ships, which left Portsmouth in England seven months earlier.
Premier Barrie Unsworth and his wife Pauline were pictured on the front page of the Leader at the entrance to the heads with a replica of Captain Bligh’s infamous ship, The Bounty, in the background.
Leader chief photographer John Veage used black and white film for the front-page photo because it was needed urgently as the paper was about to go to press.
He used colour film – requiring a seven-day newspaper printing turnaround – for photos in a wraparound feature which appeared the following week.
Thousands of spectators who lined the shoreline from Ramsgate to Brighton-Le-Sands missed out on seeing the fleet when a planned circuit of the bay was disrupted by spectator craft.
The Leader’s phones ran hot with complaints from people who found the arrival a non-event.
A typical call was from Geoff Hicks, of Ramsgate, who said, ‘‘We waited 200 years for something that didn’t happen.’’
Authorities tried to make up for the disappointment by mooring the fleet near Cooks River to give people a second chance to see it.
Bicentenary celebrations continued throughout the year, with hundreds of small to large events.
They included three shire seamen reenacting the exploration voyage of Bass and Flinders into Port Hacking and down the south coast in a replica of Tom Thumb, which was later displayed at Westfield Miranda.
On Saturday, June 18, the first of more than 500 beacons ringing the Australian coastline was lit by Governor-General, Sir Ninian Stephen, at Miranda Park.
The circle of fires saw bonfires 50 kilometres apart lit every two minutes, reaching Darwin at midnight and back at Botany Bay at dawn.
Other events were the St George Great Train Festival, the opening of Bicentennial Park, Rockdale, the landscaping of Captain Cook Drive to Kurnell and the Australian Surf Life Saving championships at Elourea and Wanda beaches.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY
Every Friday we delve into the Leader archives to embark on some time travel.
We will bring you a photograph of a news event from 57 years of Leader news coverage that you may or may not recall.
Flashback Friday submissions are also welcomed.
Feel free to share your recollections with us on our Facebook page @SutherlandShireStGeorgeNews or email leaderletters@fairfaxmedia.com.au
