Postcards were first used in Sydney in 1869

If the Postcard had been invented in the time of the First Fleet...

From the settlement destined to become the city of Sydney:

Sydney Cove 1788

Arthur Phillip, in command of our fleet, set up camp beside a freshwater stream inside this magnificent harbour. The port had been named after George Jackson, Judge Advocate of the British Fleet, by Captain James Cook in 1770. The Governor explored an arm of the port and a freshwater river to the West and discovered good farm land. He named the place Rose Hill. We all started to clear the land by cutting down the trees and burning them and mixing the ash into the ground to make it more fertile. Shipmate Robert Webb has 60 acres adjoining mine and is also building a log hut. Bright crimson birds called the Pennantian parrot after the famous Thomas Pennant, who wrote the Tour of Scotland book, are everywhere.

William Reid, marine (Sirius) Land Grant Number 2

Trevor Patrick is a local historian of the north-west of Sydney, Australia. His latest book, In Search of the Pennant Hills, recounts some of these stories (and others) in more detail.