A memorial stone to first fleet commander Admiral Arthur Phillip has been unveiled at Westminster Abbey in central London.
The Duke of Edinburgh laid a wreath at the stone during an hour-long dedication service on Wednesday that was also attended by NSW Governor Dame Marie Bashir.
Phillip, the first governor of NSW, is the latest addition to the long list of 3300 notable people buried or memorialised in the abbey.
This year marks 200 years since Phillip died in August 1814 in England.
During Wednesday's service Dame Marie praised the admiral as being "enlightened, far-sighted and indeed humane".
"Determined to ensure the fair treatment of the Aboriginal people he actively fostered harmonious relations with them," she said.
The memorial - carved from Sydney sandstone - is set in the floor of the Nave near memorials to David Livingstone, Thomas Cochrane and Isaac Newtown.
It's also nearby to the grave of the unknown warrior.
It reads: "Admiral Arthur Phillip. Royal Navy 1738-1814. First Governor of NSW & founder of modern Australia". There's a small outline of a kangaroo too.
The Dean of Westminster, Dr John Hall, described the navy man as a "modest, yet world-class seaman, linguist and patriot, whose selfless service laid the secure foundations on which was developed the Commonwealth of Australia".
Phillip was in charge of the 11 ships of the first fleet which carried some 1450 individuals. Half were convicts.
He was meant to establish a penal colony at Botany Bay but due to his rural background realised the soils and adjacent rivers were not suitable to sustaining agriculture.
So in 1788 he sailed on to Port Jackson instead which later became Sydney Harbour.
The memorial stone came about following years of lobbying by the Britain-Australia Society Education Trust whose patron is the Duke of Edinburgh.
The society said in a statement: "Admiral Phillip is hardly known in the UK, although in Australia, Phillip Bay in NSW and Port Phillip Bay in Victoria are named after him."
Share
