When did James Cook reach Australia?
James Cook reached the east coast of Australia in April 1770, aboard HMB Endeavour. He landed at Botany Bay on 29 April 1770 and later claimed the east coast for Britain.
Cook's voyage was sent by the Royal Navy and the Royal Society to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti in 1769. He then carried secret orders to search for the southern continent, and after charting New Zealand he sailed west.
On 19 April 1770, Lieutenant Zachary Hicks sighted land at Point Hicks in Victoria. Cook sailed north and landed at Kamay Botany Bay, where Gweagal people resisted the landing.
Charting the coast
The Endeavour sailed north, and in June it struck the Great Barrier Reef near Cape Tribulation. Repairs took about seven weeks at the Endeavour River, now Cooktown.
On 22 August 1770, at Possession Island, Cook claimed the east coast for Britain, calling it New South Wales.
Botanist Joseph Banks and Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander collected thousands of plant and animal specimens, many new to European science, including the first descriptions of kangaroos.
Cook's arrival is remembered very differently by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for whom it marked the beginning of colonisation. In 2020, the 250th anniversary prompted debate about how the voyage should be commemorated.
Did You Know?
Cook originally named Botany Bay Stingray Bay, then changed the name because of the many new plants Banks collected.