EXCITING BIT: James Cook 007 walks overland from Botany Bay & finds Sydney Harbour, a strategic prize. He omits it from journal but tells Admiralty. Botany Bay becomes a decoy for French & a rendezvous for First Fleet. Phillip quickly surveys Syd Harb, beating Laperouse by 5 days

Alas, Cook didn’t find the Southern Continent on the Endeavour Voyage, so he did other stuff. But he didn’t give up. On his next voyage, he plunged down into the ice at a chilly 71⁰10’S saying “it’s more than probable that we have seen a part of it” but it’s pretty uninhabitable

Don’t be late for Sydney! The French 🇫🇷 were five days late – the rest is history Bon Voyage

On his Second Voyage, Captain Cook circumnavigated the long-imagined Southern Continent aka The Great South Land or Terra Australia or Australia (until that name was purloined to replace “New Holland” in the confusing 19th century) The Rest Is History #Antarctica

Welcome! Do the recce Cook did in 1770🔭 From Frenchmans Bay, his party took the Aboriginal track over the ridge separating Botany Bay from Sydney Harbour & found Britain’s best naval asset in the Pacific & Far East🇨🇳 Cook kept it secret, but told the Admiralty⚓️ The Rest Is History

Welcome! Do the recce Cook did in 1770🔭 From Frenchmans Bay his party took the Aboriginal track over the ridge separating Botany Bay from Sydney Harbour & found Britain’s best naval asset in the Pacific & Far East🇨🇳 Cook kept it secret, but told the Admiralty⚓️ The Rest Is History

The date of Australia Day, 26 January, has become symbolic of the British arrival. Still, the only ship arrivals on that day in 1788, were French.

Three days before #AustraliaDay 1788 there was (almost) the Great Anglo-French Naval Collision. While two big French ships sail south past #SydneyHeads bound for Botany Bay, 3 little British survey boats exit #SydneyHarbour to fetch the First Fleet up from Botany Bay. They missed

Two days before #AustraliaDay, the weather was not like this! An electric storm raged for 48 hours, preventing the French ships from entering Botany Bay, and the British from leaving it. #ArthurPhillip wanted the #FirstFleet to get around to #SydneyHarbour before the French did.

With his 11 ships secure in #SydneyHarbour, #ArthurPhillip & friends raised a glass in thanks for a safe voyage & for beating their European neighbours “It was a near-run thing” There were songs, but no proclamation on the 26th. #AustraliaDay #LouisXVI #JFGLaperouse #AncienRégime

Thomas Jefferson's fears for America's west coast triggered a sudden shift in the Indo-Pacific historyreclaimed.co.uk/thomas-jeffers…

On 30 March 1772, the French naval officer and explorer, Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn, claimed possession of the western half of Australia (Australie-Occidentale française) for the French king, Louis XV.

Happy b’day #ententecordiale In Feb 1788, #ArthurPhillip sent horses to #BotanyBay to bring the French envoys to #Sydney for a musical feast #JFGLaperouse wrote: Des Européens sont tous compatriotes à cette distance de leurs pays France in Australia 🇫🇷 🇪🇺 Weight of the Past in Franco-British Relations FrancoBritishSociety

#EntenteCordiale at Encounter Bay! On 8 April 1802, east-bound Matthew Flinders in INVESTIGATOR met west-bound Nicolas Baudin in GEOGRAPHE when both were racing to find the southern mouth of the fabled #NorthSouthPassage to the #GulfofCarpentaria. #FamousMeetings France in Australia 🇫🇷 🇪🇺

Thrilled to be invited to reveal how 200 Frenchmen spent their six-week stopover at Botany Bay in 1788, and how this pivotal encounter with the British fleet shaped the nation’s future. Join us on Wednesday 16 October at 6:15 pm at Alliance Française, 257 Clarence Street, Sydney

Come and hear how 200 Frenchmen spent their six-week stopover at Botany Bay in 1788 and how this pivotal encounter with the British fleet shaped the nation’s future. Register for a talk in English at Alliance Française 13th Floor, 257 Clarence St, Sydney on Wed 16 Oct at 6:15 pm.

Thrilled to be invited to present the Pierre Roussel Memorial Lecture for Friends of the La Perouse Museum telling of the proudest moment of Louis XVI’s life: the day he saw the great navigator sail for the Pacific. Saturday 23 Nov at 1 pm at 1542 Anzac Parade, La Perouse, NSW

Jeremy, Thankyou Thomas Jefferson’s tip-off that France would take Australia, forced Britain to race to protect the eastern approaches to India & the all-seasons trade route to China. Britain beat France to Botany Bay by 5 days. Anglo-French rivalry shaped the modern world, again

A snag in teaching the history of Australia is its name, which was “New Holland” until 1817. No-one ever ordered James Cook to go to New Holland. He was sent to the south polar continent, now “Antarctica”. Please erase all sentences saying that Cook was ordered to claim Australia

Save the La Perouse Museum at Botany Bay in Sydney, Australia which marks the location of the six-week visit by 200 heroic Frenchmen in 1788 and witnessed the first Entente Cordiale in the Pacific