{
  "id": 12045858,
  "title": "Before the budget: how Governor Phillip managed without cash in the colony",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/before-the-budget-how-governor-phillip-managed-without-cash-in-the",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-05T01:15:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/before-the-budget-how-governor-phillip-managed-without-cash-in-the-colony-292371"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On January 18, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet arrived in New South Wales, carrying supplies but no currency. The British government had not granted Phillip currency, relying instead on officers, sailors, and some convicts carrying coins or banknotes. Phillip's ability to spend was limited, as he could only issue debt against the British Treasury. This debt took the form of IOUs, which Phillip used to pay sailors for building shelters for the colony. The sailors accepted the IOUs because they trusted Phillip's authority and the British Treasury's eventual redemption of the debt. Phillip's actions were not approved by Parliament, but rather, he spent without permission and relied on the trustworthiness of the IOUs. This system of spending and IOUs was also adopted by free settlers and convicts, who issued their own promissory notes. The Commissariat, a government store, provided supplies and store receipts to help colonists establish local production. As the colony grew its own food, store receipts became an acceptable means to settle outstanding IOUs. It wasn't until 1792 that the British government finally supplied currency to NSW, but by then, Phillip had already shaped the society through his use of IOUs.",
  "summary": "Without coins or British currency, Phillip managed the fledgling colony with a bunch of IOUs.",
  "key_points": [
    "Captain Phillip arrived in New South Wales on January 18, 1788, with supplies but no currency.",
    "By 1792, British government supplied currency, but Phillip's IOU system shaped colony society."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Governor Phillip's unconventional reliance on IOUs established a makeshift economy in the colony, setting a precedent that allowed settlers to adopt similar practices and ultimately function without official currency for years.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}