Instructions from Lord Sydney - Home Secretary to Captain Arthur Phillip - Sydney 1788
We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your loyalty, courage and experience in military affairs, do, by these presenrts, constitute and appoint you to be Governor of our territory called New South Wales, extending from the Northern cape or extremity of the coast called Cape York, In the latitude of 10 degrees 37 ' South, to the southern extremity of The said territory of New South Wales or South Cape, in latitude 43 degrees 39' South, and all the country inland ad westward as far as the one hundred and thirty fifth degree of longtitude, reckoning from the merridian of Greenwich, including all the islands adjacent in the Pacific ocean, within the latitude aforesaid of 10 degrees 37' South and 43 degrees 39' South, and of all towns, garrisons, castles, forts and all other fortifications or other military works, which now are or may be hereafter erected upon this said territory. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of Governor in and over our said territory by doing and performing all and all manner of things thereunto belonging, and we do hereby strictly charge and command all our officers and soldiers who shall be employed within our said Territory, and all others whom it may concern, to obey you as our Governor thereof; and you are to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time as you shall recieve from us, or any other your superior Officer according to the rules and discipline of war, and likewise such orders and directions as we shall sned you under our signet or sign manual, or by our High Treasurer or Commissioners of our Treasury, for the time being, or one of our Principal Secretaries of State, in pursuance of the trust we hereby repose in you.
given at our Court at St James, the Twelth Day of October 1786, in the 27th year of our reign
By His Majesty's Commane.
Sydney
Phillip writes to Lord Sydney
" I have the honour to enclose your Lordship the intended plan for the town. The Lietenant Governor has already begun a small house, which forms one corner of the parade, & I am building a small cottage on the east side of the cove, where i shall remain for the present with part of the convicts and an officers guard. The convicts are distributed in huts, which are built only for immediate shelter. On the point of land (Dawes Point) which forms the west side of the cove, an observatory building, under the direction of Lieutenant Dawes, who is charged by the Board of Longtitude with observing the expected comet. We now make very good bricks, and the stone is good, but do not find either lime stone or chalk. The principal streets are placed so as to admit a free circulation of air, and are 200ft wide"
