The Lady Julian was a two-decked three-master 401 tons, 110 feet long and 30 feet wide at its widest point and the height between decks 4ft 5in. The ship under Captain Aitken was to carry 150 female convicts to New South Wales, then to sail north to Canton and bring back a cargo of tea for the East India Company.
In July 1789 Lady Julian sailed down the Thames for Plymouth Sound where more convicts were loaded and sailed with somewhere between 225 and 240 female convicts and a number of infants, the eldest 68. The crew consisted of 30 and 6 officers.
Roughly 200 women and five infants slept on the lower deck the remainder slept with officers or crew as was the accepted practise in those days.
On the 29 July 1789 she set sail from Plymouth with the convicts, only 30 would ever return, cattle pens, poultry boxes and supplies stored in shacks erected for the voyage. Two and a half weeks out from Plymouth they arrived at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary archipelago. The ship was provisioned with water, meat fresh and salted, bulk fruit and vegetables.
The sea route from the Canaries to Cape Town took them towards the coast of Brazil through a 200 mile stretch of ocean known as the doldrums. The first week was easy sailing and after the second week they crossed the equator where the traditional crossing the line ceremonies were held but shortly after that they reached the doldrums and were becalmed for some weeks.
The lady Julian, due to the delays was short of water and provisions and it became essential to detour to Rio de Janeiro were she arrived 31 October. 20 mothers gave birth while the ship was in port.
At the end of December they left Rio bound for Cape Town. Shortly after arrival the ship was emptied, beached and teams of men hauled the ship on its side to enable the leaks to be repaired. During this time the convicts and crew were housed ashore and allowed with escorts to move around Cape Town.
The HMS Guardian loaded with supplies for New South Wales left Cape Town 11 December struck an iceberg in the Southern Ocean. The ship was badly damaged and the crew were forced to throw over board all the provisions which were en route to New South Wales, the ship eventually sunk and only 15 of the original crew of 60 survived in a life boat which was found by a French merchantman and were brought back to Cape Town. It was now imperative for Lady Julian to take on as many stores as possible and leave as soon as practical with provisions for the colony including 22 sheep, two stallions, 75 barrels of flour, 100 gallons of wine and on the 31 March set sail for the Southern Ocean.
The ship sailed through gales and mountainous seas and during this time the carpenter was washed overboard. Six weeks out Tasman Head (Southern Tasmania) was sighted and a further 14 days before reaching Port Jackson. This was a dramatic entry as the ship very nearly came to grief on North Head.
They sailed into Spring Cove on 3 June but due to bad weather they were not towed up the harbour into Farm Cove until 6 June.
When the women reached Sydney Cove most of them were in better health than when they embarked, due to restricted alcohol intake and fresh air
The arrival of the Lady Julian with so many mouths to feed caused a major problem and had it not been for the five month dash of the Justinian from London, which arrived a week after, the colony may not have survived.
précis by Hal Gregory
after reading the Floating Brothel" by Sian Rees
Published in Australia and New Zealand in 2001 by Hodder Headline Australia Pty Limited
other reading http://www.ridgeweb.co.uk/lady_julian.htm"