Captain Cook in New South Wales Or, The Mystery of Naming Botany Bay

Bonwick, James, 1817-1906Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.4
Word count
56K words
Chapters
6

Tags

English Originals Historical Geography Historical ResearchDiscoveryBotany BayColonial ContactCaptain CookMaritime ExplorationAdventure NarrativeOrigin of NamingAustraliaCross-Cultural View

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Captain Cook in New South Wales; Or, The Mystery of Naming Botany Bay by BonwickAuthor: Bonwick, James, 1817-1906,Language: English, Class: G: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation, Release Date: Jun 17, 2018

Editor's review

This book is a short topical study by the Australian historian James Bonwick on Captain Cook and the naming of Botany Bay. Brief though it is, it interweaves the documentary clues, voyage records, and local knowledge behind a geographical name. Its value lies not in telling the full story of Cook's voyages but in pursuing, around a single place name, the questions of why it was so named, who first called it that, and on what evidence, revealing the complexity of naming within early colonial exploration history. Bonwick writes in the manner of nineteenth-century historical scholarship, valuing comparison of primary sources and at times correcting popular accounts, so that readers can see how historical argument unfolds from details. For readers interested in maritime history, early Australian history, toponymy, or British overseas exploration, this is a small volume to be read alongside the original voyage journals; it may best be treated as a case study in "naming detective work," attentive to how the author sifts evidence and handles contradictions among different records.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Begin with a brief introduction to Cook's first voyage before entering the book, to situate the figures and place names.
  2. Mark as you read the voyage journals and early accounts the author cites, and compare the differences among versions.
  3. Read alongside a map or materials on place names of the eastern Australian coast to strengthen the sense of space.
  4. If using the book for writing, excerpt chiefly the steps by which the author argues the naming question, not merely the conclusions.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

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FAQ

Is this book a complete biography of Captain Cook? No. It is a focused study of the naming of Botany Bay, concentrating on tracing the origin of the name and the related records rather than narrating Cook's life or all his voyages in full.
Can I read it without a background in Australian history? Yes, but it is advisable first to learn the basic background of Cook's first voyage and Botany Bay. The argument is detailed, and without background one may get lost among names, places, and documentary clues.
What are the characteristics of the book's style? It has the tone of nineteenth-century historical scholarship, values comparison of primary sources, and questions popular accounts. Reading requires patience in following notes and quotations; it is not suited to quick browsing for conclusions only.
Is it suitable for research in toponymy or colonial history? It is suitable as case material. It shows how a place name was recorded, debated, and fixed, and can be used to discuss the sources of knowledge and colonial narratives behind naming, though it should be examined in light of modern research.

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About the author

Bonwick, James, 1817-1906 Author

James Bonwick (1817-1906) is an author about whom limited biographical information is publicly available, yet whose works cover a wide range of subjects, combining popular knowledge with historical inquiry. Four of his works are held in this collection. Notes of a Gold Digger, and Gold Diggers' Guide records the experiences and practical information of gold diggers; How Does a Tree Grow? Or, Botany for Young Australians and Astronomy for Young Australians introduce natural science to young readers in an accessible way; and Captain Cook in New South Wales Or, The Mystery of Naming Botany Bay presents a historical account of Captain Cook's voyages and the origins of place names. These works show that he was skilled at turning practical knowledge, introductory science and historical investigation into reading material for general readers, balancing readability with the transmission of knowledge. Public information is limited, so a full account of his life and academic background cannot be given, but these four works already reflect his writing interests in youth education and the early history and culture of Australia.