KAMAY BOTANY BAY NATIONAL PARK

Botany Bay National Park is divided into two parts: La Pérouse to the north and Kurnell to the south. The largest part of the park is the southern part. People come here primarily to observe nature and to visit one of the two visitor centers.

On the north side is the La Pérouse Museum. The museum is established where French navigator Jean-François de La Pérouse arrived on January 6, 1788, six days after Captain Philip's First Fleet. La Pérouse and his crew camped in this area for a few weeks before setting sail for the Pacific where they disappeared forever. Their ship was only found several years later, in 1826, wrecked on the island of Vanikoro (Solomon Islands). This museum, dedicated to the expedition of the French navigator, has been open since 1988. It occupies a building dating from 1881-1882.

Connected to the north shore by a wooden bridge of about 100 meters long, the islet of Bare Island hosts a fortress built in 1885 to discourage a possible Russian invasion, as incredible as it may seem.

On the south shore, there is the Kurnell Information Centre. It provides information about Botany Bay and the early Aboriginal people who occupied the area, and recounts the exploits of early explorers. There is also an information film about the park, an exhibition of Aboriginal art and a café.

By the way, don't miss the Captain Cook's Landing Place, a historical site in Sydney. It was here in 1770 that Lieutenant - later Captain - James Cook and his crew of the Endeavour landed and explored for eight days. Cook was the first European to set foot on the continent, a discovery that would have a dramatic impact on Aboriginal history and would be the starting point for British colonization from 1787. James Cook was born in 1728 in Marton, Yorkshire, Great Britain. The son of a farmer, he embarked at the age of 18 as a simple sailor on a merchant marine coal ship. In 1755, he joined the Royal Navy where he became a boatswain. From 1768, he made a series of explorations of the South Pacific aboard his ship, the Endeavour. During the first voyage, from 1768 to 1771, he passed by Cape Horn, went to New Zealand and mapped the island. He was then the first to explore the eastern coast of Australia, where he made a topographical survey.