To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s voyage to Australia, HMS Endeavour, a replica of Cook’s ship, will circumnavigate the continent. Prime minister Scott Morrison has announced the Australian government will be providing 6.7 million Australian dollars (£3.72 million) to the Australian National Maritime Museum for the voyage, which is due to embark from Sydney in March 2020 and end in May the following year.

The Evening Express quotes Mr. Morrison saying the famed explorer’s expedition “is the reason Australia is what it is today and it’s important we take the opportunity to reflect on it”.

“As the 250th anniversary nears we want to help Australians better understand Captain Cook’s historic voyage and its legacy for exploration, science and reconciliation,” he said.

Critics point out that Captain Cook did not actually circumnavigate Australia and that that indigenous Australians arrived in Australia roughly 65,000 years ago. Also, other European sailors had visited the continent before Captain Cook.

Endeavour and her Royal Navy crew set off from England in August 1768 in search of the hypothesised continent of Terra Australis Incognita.

She first reached New Zealand in October 1769 and arrived in what is now known as Botany Bay in New South Wales in April the following year.

The Australian National Maritime Museum’s replica of Endeavour made its maiden voyage in 1994 and has a regular programme of trips to Antipodean destinations including New Zealand and southern Pacific Islands.

Thanks to Miroslav for contributing to this post.