In an entry in his diary dated 26th August, (although some argue it was really 25th August), Captain Cook described the start of his voyage of discovery 250 years ago today:
“At two pm got under sail and put to sea having on board 94 persons including officers, seamen, gentlemen and their servants, near 18 months provisions, 10 carriage guns, 12 swivels with good store of ammunition, and stores of all kinds”
An adventure into the unknown, barely imaginable today, leading to the discovery of the huge island that would become Australia, so beautifully evoked here by Les Murray, the nation's greatest poet (and in my view the greatest living poet in the world today):
Yes, that is an advertisement, but it is also a lovely evocative piece of poetry that evokes the special qualities of the country Cook discovered as well as anything I know.
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