Bank’s Endeavour Journal, 1768-1771

First accurate and extensive description of Australia

Up the Coast

It was Joseph Banks’s transcription of the Aboriginal word for kangaroo as ‘kanguru’ at Endeavour River (Cooktown) in June 1770 which gave us the name of our most symbolic animal. The wealthy and influential Banks, with a passion for botany, accompanied James Cook on Endeavour’s voyage of discovery which charted the coasts of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. From first to last Banks kept a journal. It gives the first accurate and extensive description of Australia, and the first of the east coast.

Back in England, in 1779, Banks recommended New South Wales as the site for a penal settlement. Until his death in 1820, Banks took an active interest in the young colony—advising government, arranging further exploration and sending out botanical collectors.

 In 1801, this two-volume journal was given by Banks to Matthew Flinders for use as a reference on his circumnavigation of the Australian continent. The volumes travelled with Flinders around Australia and then languished on Mauritius where Flinders was imprisoned in 1803. They were later sent back to Banks in a trunk.
Display item Bank’s Endeavour Journal, 1768-1771

 

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