Rare fragment of Governor Phillip’s long-lost journal now in NSW State Library hands

A rare fragment of Governor Arthur Phillip’s long-lost journal has recently been acquired by the State Library of NSW and will go on public display for the first time, from 13 July 2024. 

No existing journals of NSW’s first Governor have survived; this newly discovered 20-page journal fragment* from the late 18th century, acquired from a dealer, is the first Phillip material to appear on the market in nearly 20 years. 

According to State Librarian Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon: “The compelling story behind this extraordinary find enhances the invaluable new insights the fragment offers into our early colonial history, particularly around British interactions with Aboriginal people.” 

In 2022, an Australian dealer purchased a 1791 Third Fleet document from a UK auction house, which was selling it for an anonymous bookseller in rural England. The dealer undertook extensive research using the State Library’s First Fleet collection to authenticate the document. 

The first 10 pages (Oct–Dec 1791) closely mirror accounts — some verbatim — from Arthur Phillip’s journal chapters included in the 1793 publication An historical journal of the transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island compiled by John Hunter, captain of the First Fleet ship HMS Sirius. 

“This is hugely significant because it confirms Phillip kept a personal journal,” says Senior Curator Sally Hone. “This fragment has a different tone to his official reports and contains historically significant details — we learn that out-of-time convicts paid 8–10 guineas for a return voyage. These and other new details will excite many researchers.” 

For Damien Webb, Head of the Library’s Indigenous Engagement Branch, the last 10 pages (Jan–Feb 1792) provide an “important layer of new information about this complex, contested part of our history”. 

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