Botany Bay
2496566
224280268
2008-07-08T03:36:00Z
124.170.183.68
/* Sydney Airport and Port Botany */
{{dablink|For other uses, see [[Botany Bay (disambiguation)]].}}
[[Image:Botany Bay.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The mouth of Botany Bay from the air]]
'''Botany Bay''' is a [[Headlands and bays|bay]] in [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]], a few kilometres south of the [[Sydney central business district]]. Two runways of [[Sydney Airport]] extend into the bay. Botany Bay was the site of [[James Cook]]'s first landing of [[HM Bark Endeavour|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==
{{Wikisource|Botany Bay|Botany Bay lyrics}}[[Image:Botanybaybicentennialmonument.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Bicentennial Monument at Botany Bay]]
Cook's landing marked the beginning of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]]'s interest in Australia and in the eventual [[colonisation]] of this new ''Southern continent'' ([http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/about/coll/maps/hist/aus/bb 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 [[stingray]]s they caught. That name was recorded on an Admiralty chart too.<ref>{{gutenberg|no=8106|name=Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World}}, editor W. J. L. Wharton's footnote to [[6 May]] [[1770]].</ref> 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 [[Joseph Banks|Mr. Banks]] and [[Daniel Solander|Dr. Solander]] found in this place occasioned my giving it the Name of Botany Bay".<ref>[[Ray Parkin]], ''H. M. Bark Endeavour'', [[Miegunyah Press]], second edition 2003, ISBN 0-522-85093-6, page 203.</ref> Initially the name '''Botanist Bay''' was also sometimes used.
==First Fleet arrives==
[[Image:Black-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth taking leave of their lovers who are going to Botany Bay.jpeg|thumb|right|Black-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth, England mourning their lovers who are soon to be transported to Botany Bay, 1792]]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 [[France|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==
{{update}}
<!-- This is the Australian Bureau of Statistics site that has the most recent information about the demographics of the Botany Bay area. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/LGA11100Population/People12000-2004?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=LGA11100&issue=2000-2004&num=&view= -->
[[Image:Sydney from Botany Bay looking north (aerial).jpg|thumb|250px|Aerial photo of Sydney showing Botany Bay in the foreground.]]
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 Australians|Indigenous]] origin. 22.07% of residents are of Southern European descent (principally [[Italians]] and [[Greeks]]). Eastern/South East [[Asian people|Asian]] and people from [[Indian subcontinent]] make 19.24% of the population, followed by [[Middle Eastern]] and [[North Africa|Northern African]] people at 7.17% and [[South Sea Islander|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 language]]s 5.05% and [[Spanish language|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==
[[Image:Sydney ASTER 2001 oct 12.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Image of Sydney taken by NASA [[RS]] satellite. Botany Bay is the large inlet at bottom right.]]
Today, the Bay is one of the major industrial ports of the city. On the north side of the bay is [[Sydney 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, New South Wales|La Perouse]] and to the south is [[Kurnell, New South Wales|Kurnell]]. On the southern side of the bay, a section of water has been fenced off under the authority of the National Parks and Wildlife Service at [[Towra Point Nature Reserve|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.
Despite being such a busy port, Botany bay has a diverse marine population and the area around its entrance is some of the best scuba diving in the Sydney area. In recent times the [http://www.botanybaywatch.com.au/ Botany Bay Watch Project] has begun with volunteers assisting to protect the Bay and it unique marine life.
==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 (song)|Botany Bay]]" was performed in the 1890s, 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 Noonien Singh|Khan]] and his genetically modified followers are discovered on by Captain [[James T. Kirk]] and crew.
==References==
{{reflist}}
== Bibliography ==
''Expédition à Botany Bay, La fondation de l'Australie coloniale'', Watkin Tench, préface d'Isabelle Merle, 2006, Editions Anacharsis
Le texte fondateur de l'Australie, Récit de voyage d'un capitaine de la First Fleet durant l'Expédition à Botany Bay
[http://www.lekti-ecriture.com/editeurs/Expedition-a-Botany-Bay-la.html]
==See also==
* [[Georges River]]
{{Sydney Botany Bay suburbs}}
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[[Category:Bays of Australia]]
[[Category:Port cities in Australia]]
[[Category:Botany Bay]]
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