Now in one definitive volume, Botany Bay and the First Fleet is a full, authentic account of the beginnings of modern Australia. In 1787 a convoy of eleven ships, carrying about 1400 people, set out from England for Botany Bay, on the east coast of New South Wales. In deciding on Botany Bay, British authorities hoped not only to rid Britain of its excess criminals, but also to gain a key strategic outpost and take control of valuable natural resources. According to the conventional account, it was a shambolic affair- under-prepared, poorly equipped and ill-disciplined. Here, Alan Frost debunks these myths, and shows that the voyage was in fact meticulously planned - reflecting its importance to Britain's imperial and commercial ambitions. In his examination of the ships, passengers and preparation, Frost reveals the hopes and schemes of those who engineered the voyage, and the experiences of those who made it. The culmination of thirty-five years' study of previously neglected archives, Botany Bay and the First Fleet offers new and surprising insights into how Australia came to be.

In 1789, as the Bounty made its return voyage through the western Pacific Ocean, disgruntled crewmen seized control from their captain, William Bligh. The mutineers set Bligh and the eighteen men who remained loyal to him adrift in one of the ship's boats, with minimal food and only four cutlasses for weapons.In the two centuries since, the mutiny and its aftermath have become the stuff of legend. Millions of words have been written about it; it has been the subject of novels, plays, feature films and documentaries. The story's two protagonists - Bligh and his mutinous deputy, Fletcher Christian - are cast as villain and hero, but which is which depends on which account you read.In Mutiny, Mayhem, Mythology, Alan Frost looks past these inherited narratives to shed new light on the infamous expedition and its significance. Returning to the very first accounts of the mutiny, he shows how gaps, misconceptions and hidden agendas crept into the historical record and have shaped it ever since.

For the first time in two hundred years, here is a full and authentic account of the beginnings of modern Australia. We all know the conventional story. Established as a dumping ground for Britain's criminals, Australia owes its existence simply to overcrowded jails and a daunting remoteness from everywhere else. In Botany Bay: The Real Story, Alan Frost goes beyond these cliches to shed new light on the decision to settle New South Wales. He examines the hopes and fears of the politicians who took the decision, and the larger commercial and military needs that underwrote it. In the years before the First Fleet sailed, Frost reveals, British authorities considered sending convicts to sites in North and South America, Africa and New Zealand. In deciding on Botany Bay, they hoped not only to rid Britain of its excess criminals, but also to gain a key strategic outpost and take control of valuable natural resources. The culmination of thirty-five years' study of previously neglected archives, Botany Bay is a groundbreaking work that offers new and surprising insights into how Australia came to be. Alan Frost is Emeritus Professor of History at La Trobe University in Melbourne. His previous books include The Voyage of the Endeavour; Arthur Phillip, 1738-1814: His Voyaging; Botany Bay Mirages; and The Global Reach of Empire.