This is the first exploration of one of the most significant sites in Australian history. It features 30 stunning black and white photographs of the people, landmarks, and moments that have affected Botany Bay. Botany Bay is renowned as the site of Captain Cook's first landing on newly discovered land, infamous as a dumping ground for British convicts, and celebrated as the birthplace of Australia. In this remarkable history, the reader is taken on a journey to find what lies behind these familiar associations. Drawing on stories, images, memories and the landscape itself, Maria Nugent weaves a rich, compelling, and often surprising account. "Botany Bay" is the first cultural history of one of the most significant Australian historical sites. From Cook's first landing to the present, it brings together the different histories of a nation.