Where is Botany Bay? And is it the same place as Sydney Harbour?

Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay are not the same place. The original convict colony was planned for Botany Bay, but settled at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson (aka Sydney Harbour) instead.

Sydney wasn’t originally intended to be based around one of the world’s great harbours. When Lt James Cook and his crew stopped by in 1770, they earmarked Botany Bay, a few miles further south, as a likely spot for a future settlement. Kurnell, where Cook’s crew made landfall, is one of Australia’s most important heritage sites.

Foundation of Sydney: Botany Bay colony

Botanist Joseph Banks particularly pushed for Botany Bay to be the site of the colony, singing the praises of the plant life he’d found around there. That, of course, was what gave Botany Bay its name.

But when the First Fleet of settlers arrived in 1788, it discovered that Cook had oversold the merits of Botany Bay. It was too open, and too shallow. There was a lack of freshwater and the soil was poor. They needed somewhere more productive if the colony was going to survive.

So the colonists headed north, to Port Jackson, which Cook had noted but never entered. When they went inside, they found deep water, sheltered anchorages, good quality soil and streams providing fresh water. That’s before you even get into the harbour islands and gorgeous beaches.

Port Jackson (aka Sydney Harbour)

Port Jackson was perfect, and the site selected for the main settlement was named Sydney Cove in honour of Lord Sydney, the British Home Secretary.

The colony eventually grew into one of the great world cities, with a natural setting that’s the envy of pretty much every urban settlement on the planet. Port Jackson is now better known as Sydney Harbour, and the edge of Sydney Cove is now Circular Quay. This is where you’ll now find the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the historic Rocks area, home to the Rocks Market. It’s also the hub for Sydney Ferries.

Where is Botany Bay?

Sydney has expanded to take in Botany Bay, now. If you’re looking for Botany Bay’s location on a map, it is the first inlet south of Sydney Harbour.

Many of the city’s southern suburbs have coastline along it. Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport is also there, in the suburb of Mascot, as are Sydney’s main port facilities near Yarra Bay Beach.

But the confusion over Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay comes from the initial convict era. Even though the city was eventually founded at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson, it was commonly known back in England as the Botany Bay Colony. They are not, however, the same place.

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