Our historical displays begin in the Robert Oatley Gallery, and the story we tell in this room is the story of the first continuous contact between British Colonial society on this continent and the ancient cultures that remain in our midst and at our heart. That continuous line begins, of course, with the arrival of James Cook aboard HMS Endeavor in 1770.
James Cook was one of the most remarkable navigators of the 18th century. He and his companions, the Naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, sailed the first circum-navigation aboard HMS Endeavor.
Now, millions of us trudge daily through Kingford Smith Airport unaware, perhaps, that Cook trod that very ground that we pass through without thinking every day.
Cook went on to do two more massive voyages of discovery. He really provides the point of departure, the start of that continuous thread of engagement between the British Colonial exercise and the creation of this youthful nation.