1769 - 1786 |
|
| 19 September 1769 | George Raper born to Henry and Catherine Raper |
| 18 October 1769 | Is baptised in St Swithin's Church, London |
| 20 August 1783 | Joins the
British Navy as a captain's servant aboard HMS Rose |
| 4 February 1786 | Is transferred to HMS Racehorse |
| 1 March 1786 | Is promoted to Able Seaman |
| 22 December 1786 |
Is transferred to HMS Sirius |
1787 |
|
| 13 May | HMS Sirius and the other ships of the First Fleet, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, leave Portsmouth, England, at daybreak |
| 13 May | At 9.00 am
the convoy passes The Needles and St Catherine's Point on the Isle
of Wight View of The Needles |
| 16 May | On leaving
sight of England at Lizard Point, George Raper begins plotting the daily
course of HMS Sirius A North & South Chart from the Lands End to the Equator |
| 1-2 June | The First
Fleet passes the Salvages View of the Salvages |
| 3 June | The convoy reaches the Canary Islands off the coast of North-West Africa |
| 3-10 June | The First
Fleet is in port at Santa Cruz on the island of Tenerife leaving in the
morning of the 10th View of the Island Teneriffe |
| 11-14 June | The convoy passes between the islands of Tenerife and Grand Canary |
| 18-20 June |
It passes
the Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of North-West Africa but is prevented
by the wind from landing at Port Praya on the island of St Jago |
| 14 July | In the evening it crosses the equator |
| 6 August |
The First
Fleet reaches the islands at the entrance to the port of Rio de Janeiro
in Brazil |
|
7 August - 3 September |
It remains
in port at Rio de Janeiro |
| 4 September |
The convoy
leaves Rio de Janeiro |
| 30 September | On the journey from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town Raper is promoted from Able Seaman to Midshipman (The part of his chart that probably recorded the route of the Sirius at this period is lost.) |
| 13 October |
At 6.00 am
the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa is
sighted |
|
14 October–13 November |
The First
Fleet is anchored at Table Bay, Cape Town |
| 25 November | Captain Phillip
transfers from the Sirius to the faster HMS Supply |
| 27 November |
An advance party comprised of the Supply and the three fastest ships in the First Fleet moves ahead of the rest of the convoy. The Sirius , under the command of Captain Hunter, is in the slower group |
1788 |
|
| Early January |
The Sirius
sights the south coast of Van Diemen's Land and passes the South-West
and South-East Capes |
| 18 January | HMS Supply arrives in Botany Bay |
| 19 January | The three fastest transports in the advance group arrive in Botany Bay |
| 20 January |
At dawn,
the Sirius is just south of Botany Bay At 8 am it
and some of the slower group join the advance group which had reached
port the previous day |
| 21 January | Phillip and Hunter go north to look for a better site for the colony returning three days later |
| 24 January |
While the rest of the First Fleet is preparing to leave Botany Bay, two French frigates La Boussole and L'Astrolabe , under the command of La Pérouse are brought in with the help of the British. Phillip delays his departure until they arrive |
| 25 January | Phillip leaves
Botany Bay for Port Jackson aboard the Supply
Entrance of Port Jackson When Close under the South Head |
| 26 January | The remainder of the First Fleet arrives in Port Jackson, the voyage having taken eight months and one week to complete |
| 6 February |
A survey of the harbour is completed Plan of Port Jackson, Coast of New South Wales |
| 14 February | Lieutenant King leaves Port Jackson for Norfolk Island, arriving there on 29 February |
| 1 October | The Sirius leaves Port Jackson for Cape Town to get supplies |
|
12 October 27 November |
It passes South Cape, New Zealand It passes Cape Horn |
1789 |
|
| 1 January | The Sirius sights the Cape of Good Hope and anchors at Robben Island |
| 2 January | At 10.00 am the Sirius anchors in Table Bay, Cape Town |
| 20 February | The Sirius leaves Table Bay |
| 6 May | The Sirius returns to Port Jackson from Cape Town with supplies |
| 19 June |
The Sirius moves to Careening Cove (now known as Mosman Bay) Carreening Cove November Repairs to the lower decks and hull of the Sirius are completed and she is moved to Sydney Cove for the remaining work |
1790 |
|
| 5 March | The Sirius departs Sydney Cove for Norfolk Island |
| 6 March |
After almost running aground at North Head, the Sirius leaves Port Jackson for Norfolk Island [Track of Sirius from Sydney Cove to Phillip Island ] |
| 13 March |
At 2 am the Sirius reaches Norfolk Island [Norfolk Island ] |
| 19 March |
It is wrecked at Norfolk Island The Melancholy Loss of H.M.S. Sirius off Norfolk Island March 19th 1790 |
| 24 March | Newton Fowell leaves Norfolk Island with 33 others on the Supply bound for Port Jackson. Raper and others remain on the island |
| 17 April | HMS Supply leaves Sydney for Batavia to get provisions |
| 20 June | The storeship Justinian , which will eventually bring supplies to Norfolk Island, arrives in Port Jackson |
| 24 July | Provisions for those remaining on Norfolk Island are reduced to three pounds of flour and one pint of rice per week, plus whatever they can find mainly mutton birds |
| 3 August | Norfolk Island Council discusses the shortage of provisions. Morale is at its lowest ebb |
| 4 August | The Supply , with Newton Fowell aboard, appears offshore but because of unfavourable winds sails away without landing, to the profound disappointment of those on the island |
| 7 August | The Justinian and the Surprize arrive at Norfolk Island from Port Jackson, with desperately needed supplies and more convicts |
| 17 December |
The Dutch ship, the Waaksamheyd arrives at Port Jackson |
1791 |
|
| 6 February | The Supply arrives at Norfolk Island |
| 12 February | Raper and the rest of the Sirius crew leave Norfolk Island to return to Sydney in the Supply |
| 23 February | HMS Supply passes Lord Howe Island en route to Port Jackson |
| 27 March | Raper leaves Sydney on the hired Dutch ship, the Waaksamheyd |
| 8 May | The Waaksamheyd passes an active volcano |
| 23 May | It anchors at the Duke of York Islands |
| 27 May | It leaves Port Hunter at the Duke of York Islands |
| 11 August | The Waaksamheyd is at Hummock Island, 25 kms from the southern point of Mindanao |
| 27 September | The Sirius anchors at Batavia after a passage of 26 weeks from Port Jackson. Within a few days, Captain Hunter has arranged to purchase the Waaksamheyd |
| 20 October | The Waaksamheyd leaves Batavia |
| 22 November |
It is assisted into Table Bay, Cape Town, having lost its two main anchors in heavy seas |
1792 |
|
| 18 January | The Waaksamheyd leaves Cape Town |
| 13 March | It leaves St Helena |
| 22 April | It arrives in Portsmouth, England |
| 28 April | Raper is discharged |
| 16 May | He is paid off |
| 20 May 1792 |
He is placed in charge of a cutter, the Expedition |
1793 - 1796 |
|
| 27 June 1793 | Raper is promoted from Midshipman to Lieutenant and transfers to the Cumberland |
| 14 October 1795 | He makes his will |
| 1796 |
He dies. His will asks for all his papers to be put in my Painting Case and delivered to my dearest and beloved mother |
1800 |
|
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Some of George Raper's paintings were acquired by Osbert Salvin and F. Du Cane Godman and were exhibited to the Zoological Society of London in 1877 |
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