News & Information

As part of the Australian National Maritime Museum’s Encounters 2020 program to mark the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s charting of the east coast of Australia in 1770, Sydneysiders have the opportunity to see Cook’s copy of his secret instructions. This important document, on loan for a limited time from the National Library of Australia, is displayed in the museum’s Under Southern Skies gallery until the end of January 2021.

Cooktown & Cape York Expo 2021 is a ten day regional expo and a festival of celebration, Reconciliation and a catalyst for regional economic renewal, highlighting Far North Queensland and Cape York’s unique history, culture, tourism offerings, visual art, performing arts, agriculture, indigenous and non-indigenous business.  However because of Covid-19, the event has been postponed until 2021.

One hundred and fifty years of exposure to salt-laden air has taken its toll on the sandstone monument to Lieutenant James Cook at Kurnell.  The obelisk has been undergoing repairs and stabilization, involving cleaning, re-pointing and water management ahead of the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the Endeavour and first contact with Aboriginal Australians. The monument was built in 1870 by Thomas Holt to mark the 100th anniversary of the landing in 1770.

“Captain Cook after 250 years: Re-exploring The Voyages of James Cook” An International Conference on Captain James Cook’s voyages (1768-1779), Amphithéâtre Georges, Maison de la Recherche, Sorbonne Université,, 28 Rue Serpente 75006, Paris France. Organised by HDEA and VALE, under the aegis of the SELVA and the Hakluyt Society, with the support of LARCA, CTEL, and the IUF.

MEDIA RELEASE - 22 Jan 2019 - Prime Minister, Minister for Communications and the Arts, Member for Leichardt. Australia's Morrison Government is backing communities across the country to mark the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s first voyage to Australia and the Pacific.

In 2020, Australia will mark 250 years since James Cook’s arrival to Australian shores in 1770 with a circumnavigation of Australia on the replica ship HMB Endeavour.  The initiative of the Australian National Maritime Museum will provide an opportunity to reflect on the significance of the voyage in Australia’s history, including the impact it has on Indigenous Australians. 

Plants that were salvaged after Captain Cook's Endeavour ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef nearly 250 years ago, will be photographed to create never before seen images in a permanent digital record.  It's part of a project that will carefully photograph 1.4 million specimens at the National Herbarium of NSW, giving plant lovers and the broader scientific community access to botanical treasurers that until now have been kept behind closed doors.

Horsham Museum and Art Gallery’s latest exhibition 'Voyages to the Pacific' is inspired by the 250th Anniversary of the departure of James Cook’s first voyage to Tahiti in 1768.  The exhibition draws on the museum’s remarkable collection of ethnographic material. The show highlights the interactions and exchanges that have taken place between the peoples of Europe and the Pacific over the last 250 years, including Horsham’s residents whose objects are displayed.