The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications has launched a new website to mark the 250th anniversary of the voyage of Captain James Cook and his ship Endeavour to the east coast of Australia in 1770.
Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, welcomed the website saying it includes information from a range of perspectives plus educational resources for teachers and students.
“This historic anniversary provides all Australians with an opportunity to reflect on our shared history, celebrate the legacy of the world’s oldest continuing living culture, and understand the origins of modern Australia,” Mr Morrison said.
“The day Cook and the local Indigenous community at Kamay first made contact 250 years ago changed the course of our land forever,” he said.
“It’s a point in time from which we embarked on a shared journey, which is realised in the way we live today.”
He said the way Australia honours the resilience, wisdom, custodianship and stewardship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians was a fundamental element of modern Australia.
“We also acknowledge the extraordinary individual of James Cook, whose passion for science and discovery played such a critical role in Australia’s journey to the nation we are today,” Mr Morrison said.
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, said the Endeavour’s arrival in Australia was an important chapter in our history, which dates back 65,000 years.
“The anniversary represents an opportunity to reflect upon the impact and changes felt by Indigenous Australians, and also to gain a better understanding of how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders lived prior to European settlement,” Mr Wyatt said.
“The Endeavour’s arrival marked the first true understanding from the western world on the world’s longest living Indigenous culture, and revealed the different ways in which science was used to help guide exploration and discovery.”
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, Paul Fletcher, said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it was important to mark key historical dates.
“The Endeavour voyage expanded the West’s knowledge of the world: the east coast of Australia was charted and native plants and animals were studied and collected,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Western and Indigenous cultures are connected through their approaches to the natural world around them, highlighting how central knowledge is to both cultures.”
The new website can be accessed at this PS News link.
