HMS Sirius (1786)
HMS Sirius was built as the
Berwick around
1780, and renamed six years later. She left
Portsmouth on
13 May 1787 as the
flagship of the
First Fleet under Captain
Arthur Phillip, arriving in
Port Jackson on
26 January 1788.
Sirius remained with the settlement while most other ships of the fleet returned to
England, some by way of
China.
Sirius was lost on 19 March, 1790 off Norfolk Island, a major disaster for the settlements at Port Jackson and Norfolk. In command at the time was Captain John Hunter, later the second governor of New South Wales.