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By sending Sir Arthur Phillip and the first batch of convicts to explore Australia, the British government had little idea where these people were going. The only reliable information about the new southern land in 1787 could be considered the report of Captain James Cook, made by him, however, 18 years before the arrival of the first English fleet in Australia.
The brilliant discoverer described in detail everything that he managed to see on the amazing continent of Aborigines and kangaroos. The only drawback was that all of these descriptions concerned an exceptionally narrow strip of the east coast of the continent from present Sydney to a large barrier reef and Carpentaria Bay. Of course, Cook did not reach the interior of the mainland. After all, he was still a navigator, and did not have the opportunity to explore such a large land. In fairness, it should be noted that even if he tried to do this, he would most likely fail. Continue reading
Australia. La Perouse
Not far from Sydney on the coast, in the area of Botany Bay, stands a high stone stele. It was erected in honor of the great French navigator Jean Francois Gallo de Laperouse. But what is the connection between him and Australia? The fact is that after Laperouse sailed from these shores in January 1788, no one else saw him alive. The brave French captain disappeared forever, although further, frankly, not very active searches and gave some information about what could happen to him.
The first European researchers found in Australia neither silver, nor gold, nor spices, nor other useful things. At first glance, this southern land in the Pacific was completely useless. James Cook, who joined New South Wales to the British crown, did not even find fresh water here. At first, he generally decided that this continent was unsuitable for life. Continue reading
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
