Plaque to Cook at Inscription Point, Kurnell, Botany Bay, NSW, Australia

Description:
Brass plaque fixed to the cliff face, a little to the north east of the Landing Place, as the nearest available spot.   The tablet is in a worn state after being exposed to the elements since 1822.

History:
Erected in 1822 at Inscription Point which was named by the Australian Philosophical Society when they secured a plaque to the cliff face to mark the point of the  HB Endeavour crew’s first landing.
The Society President, Sir Thomas MacDougal Brisbane (1773-1860), was born in Scotland, and sponsored the tablet.
From the date at the bottom of the tablet, it is evident that the tablet was intended to be unveiled by Brisbane, an admirer of Cook and Banks, in 1821.   Governor Lachlan Macquarie however resigned, and Sir Thomas Brisbane was appointed Governor of the Colony of New South Wales in his place, which delayed the unveiling.

Inscription:

AD MDCCLXX
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF BRITISH SCIENCE
THESE SHORES WERE DISCOVERED
BY
JAMES COOK & JOSEPH BANKS
THE COLUMBUS AND MӔCENAS OF THEIR TIME
THIS SPOT ONCE SAW THEM ARDENT IN THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE
NOW
TO THEIR MEMORY THIS TABLET IS INSCRIBED
IN THE FIRST YEAR
OF
THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALASIA
MR THOMAS BRISBANE KCB FRSL & E
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE
PRESIDENT
 AD  MDCCCXXI


GPS Coordinates:  -34.001831, 151.223677

References:
Endeavour Lines, pages 14, 15, no. 49 (Nov 2007)
Website: www.ssec.org.au/our_environment/our­_bioregion/kurnell/history/landing/recognition.htm