On the first of his three voyages of discovery (1768-71), Captain James Cook charted the east coast of New Holland in the Endeavour.

Cook found that the east coast of New Holland was not the barren and miserable country described by Dutch mariners who had visited the western coastline. Cook described the hinterland around Botany Bay enthusiastically as well watered, fertile meadows. These descriptions were later used to convince the British government that New South Wales would be the ideal place to establish a penal colony.

On 22 August 1770 at Possession Island near the tip of the Cape York Peninsula, Cook claimed the coast for Britain, naming it New South Wales.

Cook’s observations of Indigenous Australians put an end to any British plans for developing trade with the inhabitants of the new land. Cook wrote:

‘In reality they are far more happy than we Europeans; being wholly unaquainted not only with the superfluous but the necessary Conveniences so much sought after in Europe, they are hppy in not knowing the uses of them. They live in a Tranquility which is not disturbed by the Inequality of Condition: The Earth and sea of their own accord furnishes them all things necessary for life…In short they seemed to set no value on any thing we gave them, nor would they ever part with any thing of their own for any one article we could offer them; this in my opinion argues that they think themselves provided with all the necessarys of Life…’

On both his first and his second voyage (1772-75) Cook was searching for ‘Terra Australis Incognita': the ‘unknown southern land’ which geographers had long predicted would exist. New Holland, however, was not considered to be this fabled land of great riches.

On his second journey Cook proved that no other great landmass existed further south. More than 40 years would pass before Captain Matthew Flinders modified ‘Terra Australis Incognita’ to give Australia its name.