Botany Bay

Botany Bay, a shallow inlet in the coast of New South Wales, 5 miles S. of Sydney, discovered by Cook on his first voyage in 1770, and named by him from the great number of new plants in its vicinity. The spot where Cook landed, on the south shore, is now marked by a monument. In 1787 it received England's first penal colony in the east; and though it was supplanted next year by Port Jackson, a much better harbour to the north, yet it long continued to be the popular designation, not merely of this convict settlement, but of the Australian convict settlements generally. The ground is still remarkable for the variety and beauty of the flowering shrubs and plants with which it is covered, but, unlike what might be expected, is a sandy and otherwise barren tract, for the most part unfit for cultivation. The village of Botany is connected with Sydney by tramway, and has several schools and a mechanics' institute.