BOTANY BAY

Image of Sydney taken by NASA RS satellite. Botany Bay is the large inlet at bottom right.

Initially the name Stingray Bay 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. ^[1] 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".
But 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". ^[2]

In 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip led the First Fleet into the bay on 19 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. 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.

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. 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 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.

Kingsford Airport and Port Botany

Since 19... the small Mascot Aerodrome at Botany developed into Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport.

Port Botany was built in 1930 and is now a container terminal.

Pop culture

• The SS Botany Bay was the name of a fictional sleeper ship seen in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed." This ship was referenced, though unseen, in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when Pavel Chekov found a fragment of it and famously read "Botany Bay...oh, no!"
• The Botany Bay was a fictional whaling ship featured in the film Free Willy 3: The Rescue, probably named in reference to the above.
• Botany Bay was the destination of the prison ship in the song The Fields of Athenry.

References

1. ^ Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World, available freely at Project Gutenberg, editor W. J. L. Wharton's footnote to 6 May 1770.
2. ^ Ray Parkin, H. M. Bark Endeavour, Miegunyah Press, second edition 2003, ISBN 0-522-85093-6, page 203.

See also