Botany Bay

Botany Bay is in New South Wales, Australia, a few kilometers south of Sydney. The English Captain James Cook became the first European to visit the bay in 1770, naming it Stingray Harbour. Sir Joseph Banks, who was travelling with Cook, renamed it in 1788 and recommended it as the site for a penal colony.

The good supply of fresh water in the area led to the expansion of its population in the 19th century. Before 1996 the area around the bay was known as the Municipality of Botany, but since then it has been called the City of Botany Bay.

The small Mascot Aerodrome at Botany developed into Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport. Port Botany was built in 1930 and is now a container terminal.