What is the name of the naval vessel that led the First Fleet?

The naval vessel that led the First Fleet was HMS Sirius.

Built as a sixth-rate ship and launched in 1786, Sirius became the flagship of the eleven-vessel fleet sent to establish a British penal colony in New South Wales. Captain Arthur Phillip, the colony’s governor-designate, initially sailed aboard Sirius, while John Hunter served as its second captain.

The fleet left England on 13 May 1787 and travelled via Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope. Phillip transferred to HMS Supply at Cape Town, but Sirius remained the principal naval vessel and continued under Hunter’s command. It reached Botany Bay in January 1788, two days after Supply.

A common mix-up is HMS Supply, which was smaller and faster and arrived first at Botany Bay. Supply was vital to the expedition, but Sirius—not Supply—was the First Fleet’s flagship. Sirius later became the colony’s main supply and communications vessel before being wrecked at Norfolk Island in 1790.