Читать книгу Australian History For Dummies - Alex McDermott - Страница 45

Two men from each side of the tracks. This part of the story belongs to Englishmen James Cook and Joseph Banks: One born in rural obscurity as a son of a labourer in Yorkshire; the other born the son of a gentleman and parliamentarian of significant wealth. One would end his life being clubbed to death on a beach in Hawaii (this would be Cook); the other as a Privy Council member and Royal Society President, dividing his time between Bath and Soho Square (big hello to Banks). (See the sidebar ‘The original odd couple: Cook and Banks’ for more on this unlikely duo.)

Between them, Cook and Banks not only managed to put Australia on the map in the most literal sense (even if it was still being called New Holland; see Chapter 5 for more on how the continent’s name was changed to Australia), but also helped ensure that the first European settlement of the Australian continent was begun. The founding of the modern nation of Australia begins with these two men — and the British Royal Society.