Law in the early colony of New South Wales
English law was brought to the newly founded colony of New South Wales in 1788, which extended from Tasmania (then Van Diemen’s Land) to Cape York in the north and from the east coast to the 135th meridian (roughly to Coober Pedy). For the first three decades, the colony was administered by military leaders who were answerable only to the Crown, the first of which was Captain Arthur Phillip. He arrived on the HMS Sirius with 11 vessels in the fleet carrying 1480 people – half of them convicts. From the start New South Wales was not to be administered solely as a military prison.
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