Friendship (1784)

Friendship was an Australian First Fleet transport ship, built in Scarborough, England, in 1784.

A brig of 278 tons, she was among the smallest of the transports. Her Master was Francis Walton and surgeon Thomas Arndell. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying seventy-six male and twenty-one female convicts. The female convicts were transferred to other transports at the Cape of Good Hope to make room for livestock purchased there. She arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia, on 26 January 1788. Friendship left Port Jackson on 14 July 1788 in company with Alexander.

Fate
The crews of both ships were so badly affected by scurvy off the coast of Borneo that enough healthy sailors remained for only one working ship, and Friendship was scuttled in the Straits of Makassar on 28 October 1788.

Legal action
The owners took legal action against the Government for the loss of the ship, which took many years.