James Cook. Discovery of Australia

On April 29, 1770, the heavy and clumsy ship Endeavor anchored in the waters of a charming bay. Among the team of captain James Cook, who went in search of an unknown southern mainland, in other words, Australia, there was also a scientist – amateur botanist of the Royal Geographical Society Joseph Banks. He was so struck by the picture of dozens of plants that were unknown to science of the time that he had discovered that he persuaded Cook to rename the seemingly named bay. Since then, it has been called the Botanical, that is, Botany Bay.

It must be said that the expedition with so many scientists on board went to the expanses of the Pacific Ocean for the first time. In addition to Banks, on board the Endeavor were the Swedish naturalists Solander and Spering, two artists, their assistants – only 11 people. Continue reading →