On This Day - June 5th 1788
First Fleet cattle from the government herds go bush, disappearing for seven years.
The First Fleet of convicts to Australia departed Portsmouth, England in May 1787, and arrived in New South Wales in January 1788. Whilst one of the primary purposes of the First Fleet was to establish a penal colony on the east coast of the Australian continent, removing excess prisoners from England was not the only rationale. It was intended that New South Wales would eventually become a self-supporting British presence in the South Pacific. This would not only help expand the British Empire and provide a trading outpost, but would help to deter the French from establishing a presence in the region. To that end, the First Fleet carried many supplies that would assist the colony’s long-term prospects of survival. This included livestock such as cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and horses. Further livestock was purchased at Cape Town, the final stop before New South Wales.
On 5 June 1788, a large number of cattle from the government herds that had arrived with the First Fleet strayed from the colony and went bush. The cattle were not recovered until pardoned convict John Wilson, who settled southwest of Sydney, found the herd and its descendants living near the Nepean River in 1795. The herd had thrived in the bush, and the cattle were strong and healthy. The location where the lost cattle were located became known as Cow Pastures.