Read Mary's Guardian for Free Online

summation of him was anywhere close to the truth.
    ‘You men,’ came a shout from one of the mariners. ‘Get those tools up on that bank and start clearing some of that bush. An officer’s up there overseeing the marking out of the encampment. Get to. No waiting about. The lash is gettin’ hungry and those who loiter will feel it soon enough.’
    William and James wiped their brows of the sweat which now poured down their faces, and picked up the tent they were carrying, hauling it further towards the trees. James’ eyes kept scanning the land ahead. His feet stumbled over small rocks and the first of the tree roots.
    ‘You’d best to keep watch on where we’re going, James.’ William was becoming irritated with the man. ‘You’ve more to fear from the overseer’s whip than those black men. They’re more afraid than we are, from the look of them.’
    ‘We’ll see,’ James huffed, righting himself as he almost tripped.
    Within hours a large clearing had been established. The sound of axes faded. The tapping of tent pegs and the flapping of canvas filled the still, humid air. Officers, sailors and prisoners gradually sank to the sandy grassland, having long since stripped off their shirts or rolled up their sleeves and pants. The crowd of bodies was still far short of the fleet’s full compliment. Many were still aboard the vessels listing in the shimmering waters off the bay. William could only imagine their frustration and agitation but he wondered if, for the most part, they’d fare any better when they were brought ashore and put to work.
    Governor Phillip seemed to have no such doubts. Having overseen the erection of the first symbols of settlement, he ordered the raising of the British flag in the centre of the small huddle of tents, the exhausted prisoners watching from the sidelines. A party of mariners fired off a salute, while the officers drank a toast to the King, the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the new British colony. The Reverend Richard Johnson offered a prayer of blessing for the settlement, beseeching the God of the English people to guide their endeavours in this new and unknown land and to protect His servants who had undertaken the mammoth task ahead of them.
    William offered his own silent prayer, for exactly what he wasn’t sure. His myriad of thoughts and feelings were always hard to put into words, and he was not at all used to forming them into a prayer. But in his heart he had no doubt that this motley group of prisoners, soldiers and mariners would need more than human effort and vision to make the most of this venture.
    The day after the landing was a Sunday but it was not to be a day of rest. However, William did take a moment from the work he’d been assigned to and squinted as he stared around at his new home. All about him men were cutting down trees, unloading stores, setting up a blacksmith’s forge, and mending fishing nets. Tents were being erected and lines for Governor Phillip’s portable house and a hospital were being marked out. The bush land around the clearing was thick and stretched as far as he could see. The sky was as bright a blue as he’d ever laid eyes on. The sun shimmered on the waters that lapped at the shore where he stood, waiting to unload another long boat. He was still hardly able to believe that he was on the other side of the world but his heart was beating with hope. And his thoughts turned again to Mary Groves. He wondered how she had survived the trip. The women prisoners had been left on board their ship during the initial setting up, so he still hadn’t seen her. But he’d thought of her often and prayed that she’d not lost her head and got herself into too much trouble.
    ***
    It was Wednesday, 6th of February before the Governor ordered the women be brought ashore. For over two weeks the Prince of Wales had anchored in the waters off shore. The mood of the women had gone from anxious anticipation to frantic agitation in that time.