It is a common misconception that Captain Cook discovered Australia. He did not. The Australian continent had been populated by Aborigines for thousands of years, and visited by numerous Asian traders and, later, explorers since the first known European visitor in 1616. Captain James Cook was the first European to sight and chart the eastern coast of Australia, which he did between April and August 1770.
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James Cook (still a lieutenant at this stage) discovered and named Botany Bay on Australia's east coast in April 1770.
James Cook (not yet a captain) claimed New South Wales for Great Britain in 1770.
Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook reached the eastern coast of Australia in April 1770. He first sighted and named Point Hicks on the southeastern coast, and gradually moved northwards.
James Cook raised the British flag on Australia's eastern coast in 1770.
James Cook never settled in Australia. After charting the eastern coast of the continent in 1770, he returned to England. During his life, he made two more significant voyages, but his home remained in England.