Maritime mayhem in early Botany Bay

A little-known chapter of Australia’s past is that the convict settlement at Port Jackson became the first British port in the Pacific. Following his 2025 lecture at the National Library, maritime historian Chris Maxworthy returns to expand on his research.

From Sydney Cove, early whalers, privateers and adventurers launched daring voyages against Spain’s colonies in Mexico, Peru and Chile. During the turmoil of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, Britain even authorised private ships to strike at its enemies.

Join Chris Maxworthy as he explores the colony’s earliest years and shows how voyages in search of whales and precious metals proved the strategic value of a British base in the Southwest Pacific. In just ten years, Sydney Cove grew into a bold and influential outpost.

Chris will also recount the first naval battle involving mariners living in Australia, who fought against Spanish warships on the Pacific coast of South America. One highlight is the remarkable 1801 capture of the Spanish warship Limeño near modern day Ecuador—achieved by thirty former convicts and a motley crew of whalemen.