Melbourne , Victoria, Australia — Oceania

Travel through time

— Royal Botanic Gardens - Melbourne —

Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, March 30, 2026

1. Travel through time Marker

Inscription. Botany Bay 1770. Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander waded ashore and collected a plant they'd never seen before. One of the Banksia specimens they collected is in our Herbarium.

During the Endeavour voyage Banks and Solander discovered 110 genera and 1,300 species new to science.

(Photo) Type specimen of Banksia serrata collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, Botany Bay (New South Wales),1770.

Erected by Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Parks & Recreational Areas • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1770.

Location. 37° 49.842′ S, 144° 58.631′ E. Marker is in Melbourne, Victoria. It can be reached from Birdwood Avenue 0.1 kilometers north of Dallas Brooks Drive. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Melbourne VIC 3004, Australia. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Oceania,

Australasia,

the Pacific Ocean,

South Pacific,

the Pacific Rim,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony.

Other nearby markers. At

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least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Discovery: more common than you expect (here, next to this marker); Unwelcome Strangers (here, next to this marker); Baron Ferdinand von Mueller K.C.M.G (a few steps from this marker); Herbarium Discovery Walk (within shouting distance of this marker); Director's Residence Royal Botanic Gardens (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Observatory House (about 150 meters away); Magnet House (about 150 meters away); Astrograph House (about 180 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Melbourne.

Also see . . .
1. Joseph Banks. Wikipedia

Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage (1768–1771), visiting Brazil, Tahiti, and after 6 months in New Zealand, Australia, returning to immediate fame. He held the position of president of the Royal Society for over 41 years. He advised King George III on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, sending botanists around the world to collect plants, he made Kew the world's leading botanical garden. He is credited
Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, March 30, 2026

2. Information Board at the Marker
for bringing 30,000 plant specimens home with him; amongst them, he was the first European to document 1,400.

(Submitted on March 30, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)

2. Daniel Solander. Wikipedia

In 1768, Solander gained leave of absence from the British Museum and with his assistant Herman Spöring accompanied Joseph Banks on James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific Ocean aboard the Endeavour. They were the botanists who inspired the name Botanist Bay (which later became Botany Bay) for the first landing place of Cook's expedition in Australia. Solander helped make and describe an important collection of Australian plants while the Endeavour was beached at the site of present-day Cooktown for nearly seven weeks, after being damaged on the Great Barrier Reef. These collections later formed the basis of Banks' Florilegium.

(Submitted on March 30, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 2, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 30, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. This page has been viewed 19 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 30, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.