Everything about Botany Bay totally explained
Botany Bay is a
bay in
Sydney,
New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the
Sydney central business district. Two runways of
Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport extend in to the bay. Botany Bay was the site of
James Cook's first landing of
HMS Endeavour on the continent of
Australia, after his extensive navigation of
New Zealand. Later the British planned Botany Bay as the site for a
penal colony. Out of these plans came the first European habitation of Australia at
Sydney Cove.
James Cook's visit
Cook's landing marked the beginning of
Britain's interest in Australia and in the eventual
colonisation of this new
Southern continent (
Captain Cook's map of Botany Bay
).
Initially the name
Stingray Bay or
Stingray Harbour was used by Cook and other journal keepers on his expedition, for the
stingrays they caught. That name was recorded on an Admiralty chart too. Cook's log for
6 May 1770 records "The great quantity of these sort of fish found in this place occasioned my giving it the name of Stingrays Harbour". However, in his journal (prepared later from his log), he changed to "The great quantity of plants
Mr. Banks and
Dr. Solander found in this place occasioned my giving it the Name of Botany Bay". Initially the name
Botanist Bay was also sometimes used.
First Fleet arrives
Captain
Arthur Phillip led the
First Fleet into the bay on
18 January 1788 to found a
penal colony there. Finding that the sandy infertile soil of the site in fact rendered it most unsuitable for settlement, Phillip decided instead to move to the excellent natural harbor of
Port Jackson to the north. On
26 January, while still anchored in the bay, the British encountered the
French exploratory expedition of
Jean-François de La Pérouse. Panicked by the thought that the French might beat them to it, the colonists sailed that afternoon to found a settlement at
Sydney Cove.
The good supply of
fresh water in the area led to the expansion of its population in the
19th century.
Demographics
According to the most recent census, Botany Bay has a population of 35,897 (17,735 males and 18,162 females).
There were 558 people 1.6% (274 males and 284 females) who identified as being of
Indigenous origin. 22.07% of residents are of Southern European descent (Principally
Italians and
Greeks). Eastern/South East
Asian and people from
Indian subcontinent make 19.24% of the population, followed by
Middle Eastern and
Northern African people at 7.17% and
Pacific Islanders at 2.72%.
The three most common languages spoken at home other than English in the 2001 census were Greek 7.4%,
Chinese languages 5.05% and
Spanish 4.5%.
The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over in the 2001 census was $300-$399. 49.8% of households have children and 3.5% of the people were in group households.
Sydney Airport and Port Botany
Today, the Bay is one of the major industrial ports of the city. On the north side of the bay is
Kingsford Smith International Airport, Australia's largest airport. Land was reclaimed from the bay to extend its first north-south runway and build a second one parallel to it.
The land around the headlands of the bay is protected by the
National Parks and Wildlife Service as
Botany Bay National Park. On the northern side of the mouth of the bay is the historic site of
La Perouse and to the south is
Kurnell. On the southern side of the bay, a section of water has been fenced off under the authority of the National Parkes and Wildlife Service at
Towra Point for environmental conservation purposes.
Port Botany, to the east of the airport, was built in
1930 and is the largest
container terminal in Sydney.
In popular culture
Despite the move, for many years afterward, the Australian penal colony would be referred to as "Botany Bay" in
England - and in convict ballads such as
Ireland's "
The Fields of Athenry".
A song named "
Botany Bay" was performed in the 1890's, based on older tunes.
A song entitled "The Shores of Botany Bay" was written by
Brian Warfield and recorded by
The Wolfe Tones in the early 1970s. This satirical song deals with a group of Irishmen volunteering for the transportation process in the hopes of finding wealth in Australia.
Residences in
Trinity College Dublin are named for Botany Bay as a
tongue in cheek reference.
In the
Star Trek universe the
S.S. Botany Bay is the ship that
Khan and his genetically modified followers are discovered on by Captain
James T. Kirk and crew.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Botany Bay'.
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