100 Historical Documents of Australia Flashcards
Who was the first to report the Southern Cross?
A young Italian adventurer named Andrea Corsali in 1515 described it as ‘a marveylous order of starres’, “This crosse is so fayre and bewtiful, that none other hevenly signe may be compared to it…”.
He noticed it while on a voyage around the Cape of Good Hope on the African coast and wrote to his patron Giuliano de Medici in Florence about it.
What was Captain James Cook’s ‘secret mission’ in 1768?
He was to use his Endeavour voyage 1768-1771 to Tahiti to track the passage of Venus as a cover to survey the ‘great Southern continent’, Terra australis incognita, a continent fabled to lie between the Cape of Good Hope (Africa) and the Straits of Magellan (South America) i.e. Australia, as well as New Zealand.
Great Britain was hoping to use the Antipodes (Australia and New Zealand) for trade purposes, instructions included to 1) map the geography (noting weather, tides, coast), 2) note the local flora and fauna, 3) maintain friendly relations with the natives.
Captain Cook mapped out the entire coast of New Zealand, then charted the east Coast of Australia, making several stops, in what is now today called Botany Bay.
Joseph Banks, a naturalist who was also on board, also made botanical discoveries with his colleagues that increased the tally of known species by 10%.
What happened on 22 August 1770, while on the Endeavour voyage?
Captain James Cook claimed the entire East coast of Australia for the Crown (then King George III) and named it New South Wales.
It was errantly declared terra nullius.
Joseph Banks spoke to the House of Commons on 1 April 1779 about what issue?
Joseph Banks was the botanist who accompanied Cpt James Cook on the Endeavour voyage in 1770.
Despite being unimpressed by the plants in Australia, he recommended it to the Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1779 as a suitable place to nourish a settlement of young convicts due to its weather, supply of food and water, “cowardly natives” and size (larger than all of Europe).
It was a recommendation made in context of the overcrowding of England’s prisons and the end of transportation to North America.
What was James Matra’s role in the Endeavour voyage?
He was a sailor and diplomat who was midshipman for the Endeavour voyage and was thought to be next to useless by Cpt James Cook.
He however formed a tight friendship with Joseph Banks and later became one of the leading proponents of establishing a settlement in Australia, offering a testimony in 1785 to the House of Commons.
He also explained that it had strategic significance and could give Great Britain significant military advantage over Spain or Holland, and also trading advantages over Russia and China.
“I am going to offer an object to the consideration of our Government what [that] may in time atone for the loss of our American colonies.”
